Your Genes-There’s a Patent on That!

Surprise, since 1982, the U.S. Patent and Trade office has been issuing patents on human genetic material. In fact, there are currently 3,000 to 5,000 patents on human genes in the United States alone. Angelina Jolie brought this topic to the forefront with her announcements regarding her own genetic risk of breast cancer, a genetic tendency that figured in her own mother’s death at an early age. The genes in question related to breast cancer are called BRCA1 and BRCA2 and there is an argument going on over the ethics of patenting them. Some (the drug companies) argue that gene patents drive medical innovations but others including the Supreme Court are skeptical and considering whether or not the patents are valid. These patents are connected to the lucrative business of testing for various tendencies, in the case of BRCA1 and BRCA2, breast and ovarian cancer risks. I just italicized lucrative because I think the gene patents drive more than just innovation. They drive profit. Case in point is the patenting of genetically modified crops. And consider all the tests available, many routinely required for unborn and newborn babies. The science involved with genetics and these patents are three decades ahead of any Supreme Court decisions which says more about how fast some things are moving and highlights how slow others are to catch up. Fortunately (I think) for me I was born (with all my own unpatented genes) before genes were being patented. I wonder if that could mean a break in the event I find myself needing an expensive test related to a patented gene. I guess I’d just need to convince them that I should be considered “Grandmothered” in.