Gene Research US Court denies patents

Gene Research: US court rejects patents: A New York court has denied patents on genes, greatly affecting conditions for future work on genes.

A New York court has denied patents on genes, greatly affecting conditions for future work on genes. Gene patents exist in the USA, but also in Europe, if the respective gene function could be clearly analyzed and used. The use consists mainly in the diagnosis of diseases caused by tumors and infectious diseases and finding a therapy on a molecular level with drugs. Examples include genes that are associated with certain diseases such as tumors of the intestine, the occurrence of asthma and Alzheimer's disease. About one fifth of all human gene structures are said to have been patented in this way so far.

According to the „Handelsblatt“ The consequences of this should be rather marginal for the big companies in the pharmaceutical industry. Because unlike smaller and medium-sized pharmaceutical companies, the gene sections and the patents on it in the development of new funds only a small position dar.

In this case, there are several patents on genes that are associated with breast cancer. The gene sequences BRCA1 and BRCA2 in mutations to increase the risk of breast cancer, but also to tumors of the ovary to increase ill. The US biotech company Myriad Genetics has had a monopoly on the commercial exploitation of the tests by patenting the two sections, which are not really a bargain at around $ 3,000. The company has annual sales of about $ 326 million. After the announcement of the verdict, the stock market price of Myriad Genetics dropped briefly. The company announced revision.

The US court in New York wrote a judgment of about 150 pages under Judge Robert Sweet and argued that patenting was rejected by arguing that genes are a natural thing and not a new discovery or invention of individual human individuals or companies.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), an organization promoting more civil rights and having filed suit against patentability, celebrates the verdict as a triumph. The content of the verdict is in part in line with the ethical view of the patenting of genes by representatives of naturopathy. The civil rights activists criticized rather the hindrance of the research and the public access. However, according to observers, the run on genetic patents of the 90s is now slowing down and no longer very pronounced. The trend is more towards publication in publicly accessible databases. (Thorsten Fischer, Naturopath Osteopathy, 31.03.2010)

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