http://hplusmagazine.com/articles/neuro/aclu-v-gene-patents

[☭proletarian☭]

On May 12, 2009, the ACLU and the Public Patent Office submitted a brief to the Southern District Court of New York. The legal action involved twenty plaintiffs, including organizations like the Association for Molecular Pathology along with medical doctors and private individuals. They all had one goal in mind — to invalidate the claim of a Utah-based company over genes that affect the fate of every woman in America.


The company in question, Myriad Genetics, owns the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes associated with hereditary forms of breast and ovarian cancer. They also own the only currently available diagnostic test for these genes, which they sell for a little over three thousand dollars. And they control the right to allow testing and experimentation on these genes. It is no exaggeration to say that Myriad controls every facet of those genes. As a result, many women have been unable to get vital health information, and scientists have been unable to perform important research without paying large sums of money to Myriad.

ACLU v. The Gene Patents | h+ Magazine

Classic case of capitalism versus human well-being

 

[uscitizen]

I had my genes patented.