DOJ Now Opposes Patents On Genes

[Madeline]

The Justice Department is proposing to overturn 30 years of legal precedent by sharply limiting patents on genes. The government surprised just about everyone who follows this issue when it suggested this change of policy in a court filing last week.

Genes, made up of tiny strands of DNA, may no longer be patentable under the Justice Department's recent decision.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office says that for the time being, it's not changing its rules, but the government's brief has thrown open an old debate about where to draw the line in patenting parts of nature.

Surprising Reversal

The debate bubbled up again last spring, over the issue of patents on genes related to breast cancer. Myriad Genetics, a private health care company, has patented two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are the targets of a widely used test for breast and ovarian cancer.

But a judge in Manhattan sided with plaintiffs who said genes like this shouldn't be patentable in the first place.

The company appealed. And Myriad general counsel Richard Marsh says they asked the Justice Department to weigh in, figuring the government would defend its long-held position. The government weighed in, but largely against Myriad.

"In that regard, yes it was surprising to see that there's been this switch in thinking by the current administration," Marsh says.

Feds Surprise Biotech Industry With Gene Patent Rule : NPR

I can understand the philosphical problem -- granting a patent on "nature" -- but how does this DOJ position further the interests of research and public health?

Discuss.