The following is an excerpt of a longer story.
The Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments and examined one of the most pivotal cases in healthcare and personalized medicine: AMP v. Myriad Genetics. The case will determine if patents on human genes should be allowed, and the Court is expected to issue a decision next month. This case is important because Myriad genetics holds patents for the breast cancer associated genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2), and only they can legally examine these fragments of DNA from your body. The Association of Molecular Pathologists (AMP), geneticists, doctors, patients, and researchers have challenged Myriad’s patents, due to their exclusivity and the documented threat to clinical and basic research.
But these patents are just the tip of the iceberg; there are over 40,000 others like them on genes or DNA held by other companies other organizations. These patents prevent you, or your doctor, from looking at your own DNA. In the case of Myriad and some others, they claim not only modified DNA, but also that they have invented the BRCA molecules that are hiding in your body. The big problem is that your body is in the way of their molecules.
Read the full story here: Defending Genomic Liberty
