Ten years ago, an unlikely group promoted innovation in the field of genomic medicine. They did not have medical degrees or toil endlessly in research laboratories — they sat as judges on the Supreme Court. In the Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics case, the court ruled 9-0 that human genes were products of nature, not intellectual property, and that exclusive patent rights over genes should never be granted to anyone.
Since that ruling, authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, much has changed in the world of medicine and biotechnology because of the groundbreaking case. All of humanity is better for it.
The case revolved around patent rights granted to a company, Myriad Genetics, over the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Mutations in these genes are associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, a condition linked to an 80 percent increased risk of breast cancer and 50 percent higher risk of ovarian cancer (as well as a lesser risk of other cancers, such as prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and melanoma). These patents granted the company exclusive rights to clinical testing of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and thus essentially corporate ownership of the associated diseases.
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For the full article click here: A decade after a landmark ruling, gene patents still threaten America’s health