Did you know that before yesterday, it was legal for one company to own the rights to research your genes? Not anymore, thank goodness. It is now illegal to patent breast and ovarian cancer genes. A judge ruled today that the Myriad Foundation’s patenting of several genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer are invalid.
This is a victory for science, women, and all patients. The New York Times article on the case observes that “The case could have far-reaching implications. About 20 percent of human genes have been patented, and multibillion-dollar industries have been built atop the intellectual property rights that the patents grant.”
The ACLU and the Public Patent Foundation argued that “genes, products of nature, fall outside the realm of things that can be patented”, and yet Myriad Genetic somehow reasoned that “the work of isolating the DNA from the body transforms it and makes it patentable.” I don’t know about you, but I cant think of anything more personal and essential to my body than my DNA.Companies can own many things, but they should not be able to own the rights to my genetic information.
According to Sandra Park of the ACLU, "This is the beginning of the end to patents that restrict women's access to their own genetic information and interfere with their medical care."
Learn more about this victory here, and read this New York Times article to get more background on the significant implications this court decision will have on gene patenting in general.