Landmark US court ruling reignites debate on gene patenting

Written on the 20th of May 2010 by Kerrin Anderson

A landmark US court ruling against gene patents has reignited debate on the issue in Australia just as the senate announced an extension to the reporting time for the gene patents inquiry.

Myriad case

At the end of last month, in Association for Molecular Pathology et al v US Patent and Trademark Office (Myriad Case) the New York district court ruled that biotechnology company Myriad Genetics’ gene patents issued in relation to human breast cancer genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) were invalid as the genes were ‘products of nature’.

Myriad asserted that the patent claims related to genes that have been isolated and purified and although they are ‘naturally occurring’ compounds, they ‘do not exist in nature in pure form’, rendering those compounds patentable. The plaintiffs argued that a gene, even in its isolated form, is a ‘product of nature’ and therefore not patentable subject matter...

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