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U.S. Court Invalidates Human Gene Patents
In a decision that will certainly be appealed, Justice Sweet of the U.S. District Court recently ruled that seven patents related to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast cancer genes were invalid. This is a major victory for the plaintiffs, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation.
The basis of the challenge to the patents is that there is a prohibition against patenting products of nature. The decision exposes a fundamental tension between biotechnology companies that argue such patents provide the necessary incentives to fund costly medical research, and patients’ advocates that argue such patents lead to testing and treatment that is too expensive for many. If upheld, the decision will put increased pressure on the government to fund this type of research in universities.
For a copy of the decision, see:
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/national/20100329_patent_opinion.pdf
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