CIENCIASMEDICASNEWS: ACLU Challenges Patents On Breast Cancer Genes

domingo, 4 de marzo de 2012

ACLU Challenges Patents On Breast Cancer Genes | American Civil Liberties Union

ACLU Challenges Patents On Breast Cancer Genes: BRCA

February 22, 2012

On May 12, 2009, the ACLU and the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) filed a lawsuit charging that patents on two human genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer are unconstitutional and invalid. The suit charges that the patents stifle diagnostic testing and research that could lead to cures and that they limit women's options regarding their medical care.

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The lawsuit, Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, et al., was filed on behalf of researchers, genetic counselors, women patients, cancer survivors, breast cancer and women's health groups, and scientific associations representing 150,000 geneticists, pathologists, and laboratory professionals. The lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as well as Myriad Genetics and the University of Utah Research Foundation, which hold the patents on the genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. The lawsuit charges that patents on human genes violate the First Amendment and patent law because genes are "products of nature" and therefore can't be patented.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has granted thousands of patents on human genes – in fact, about 20 percent of our genes are patented. A gene patent holder has the right to prevent anyone from studying, testing or even looking at a gene. As a result, scientific research and genetic testing has been delayed, limited or even shut down due to concerns about gene patents.

On March 29, 2010 a New York federal court ruled that the patents on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are invalid. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard Myriad's appeal of that ruling in April 2011.
In July 2011, the appeals court ruled that companies can obtain patents on the genes but cannot patent methods to compare those gene sequences.

PLAINTIFFS Please note: These statements were made by the plaintiffs at the time the lawsuit was filed and should be attributed as such.
	Association For Molecular Pathology (Jan Nowak, MD, PhD, President) About AMP >> Statement >>	American College Of Medical Genetics (Michael S. Watson, PhD, Executive Director) About ACMG >> Statement >>
	American Society For Clinical Pathology (Barbara McKenna, MD, President) About ASCP >> Statement >>	College Of American Pathologists (Jeffrey A. Kant, MD, PhD) About CAP >>
	Haig Kazazian, MD Biography >> Statement >>	Arupa Ganguly, PhD Biography >> Statement >>
	Wendy Chung, MD, PhD Biography >> Statement >>	Harry Ostrer, MD Biography >> Statement >>
	David Ledbetter, PhD Biography >> Statement >>	Stephen Warren, PhD Biography >> Statement >>
	Ellen Matloff, MS Biography >> Statement >>	Breast Cancer Action (Karuna Jaggar, Executive Director) About BCA >> Statement >>
	Our Bodies Ourselves (Boston Women's Health Book Collective) (Judy Norsigian, Executive Director) About OBOS >> Statement >>	Lisbeth Ceriani Biography >> Statement >>
	Runi Limary Biography >> Statement >>	Genae Girard Biography >> Statement >>
	Vicky Thomason Biography >> Statement >>	Kathleen Raker Biography >> Statement >>
	Elsa Reich, MS Biography >> Statement >>