Gene patents in front of US Supreme Court

The US Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday on whether to allow private entities to patent genes they have isolated and identified. The decision could have far-reaching implications for genetic research. The Court will review a 2012 appeals court decision that allowed biotechnology company Myriad Genetics Inc to patent two genes it found had links to breast and ovarian cancer. The ruling drew protest from associations representing some 150,000 researchers, doctors and patients, who want the court to overturn the decision. Lawyer Sandra Park of the American Civil Liberties Union says extracting a gene from a cell to isolate it does not constitute an invention by itself. Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics, says Myriad’s patents create a “lack of access for further development of basic research.” But the company says it created synthetic molecules of DNA in the laboratory, different from what is found in nature or the human body. The Supreme Court’s decision is expected in June.

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