Hooray for Robert Sweet!

A federal judge on Monday nullified patents associated with human genes known to detect early signs of breast and ovarian cancer.

snip

U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet agreed with the civil rights group that the patents were invalid because they covered the most basic element of every person’s individuality. “Products of nature do not constitute patentable subject matter absent a change that results in the creation of a fundamentally new product,” Sweet wrote in a 152-page opinion.

The lawsuit claimed the patents were so broad they barred scientists from examining and comparing the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes at the center of the dispute. The patents issued more than a decade ago covered any new scientific methods of looking at these human genes that might be developed by others.

The patents gave Myriad Genetics a virtual monopoly on such predictive testing for breast and ovarian cancer. Women who fear they may be at an increased risk are barred from having anyone look at their BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes or interpret them except for the patent holder, which charges about $3,000 for a test. About 10 percent of women with breast cancer are likely to have a mutation inherited from their parents in the genes at issue, according to the suit.

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Thank you Judge Sweet, and fuck cancer!

Every once in a while, a federal judge doesn't screw over the American people, and it's always nice to see.

glatt;644339 wrote:

Every once in a while, a federal judge doesn't screw over the American people, ...

Um... that's what the Supreme Court is for, any chance that bunch has to make humans less important than companies will be exploited. This one will be overturned by the nutters.

I watched a story on this last Sunday on "60 Minutes". Myriad is fighting the ruling. Suprise.

I'm sure that will go all the way to the Supremes, there's big money on both sides of the fight. It may even effect the selection/confirmation of the next justice.

The Feds have finally taken the proper stand on this issue in a "friend of the court" brief...

NYTimes

U.S. Says Genes Should Not Be Eligible for Patents
By ANDREW POLLACK
Published: October 29, 2010

Reversing a longstanding policy, the federal government said on Friday that human and other genes should not be eligible for patents because they are part of nature. The new position could have a huge impact on medicine and on the biotechnology industry

We acknowledge that this conclusion is contrary to the longstanding practice of the Patent and Trademark Office, as well as the practice of the National Institutes of Health and other government agencies that have in the past sought and obtained patents for isolated genomic DNA,” the brief said.

It is not clear if the position in the legal brief, which appears to have been the result of discussions among various government agencies, will be put into effect by the Patent Office.

However, the government suggested such a change would have limited impact on the biotechnology industry because man-made manipulations of DNA, like methods to create genetically modified crops or gene therapies, could still be patented.

I read this to mean a company can patent a therapy for a particular gene, but can't prevent another company from developing a different therapy (which they can patent) for the same gene.

If so, this is very good news, but I doubt this is the end of it. This will most likely go to the supremes.

Yes. Fuck cancer.