Duke University Study Suggests Gene Patents Don’t Advance Care for Patients
Pathologists already find it difficult to obtain gene patent licenses needed to offer multi-gene molecular diagnostic tests
Patents on human genes are a major issue in pathology and clinical laboratory testing. Now a new report based on the study of the positive and negative consequences of gene patenting comes to the conclusion that patents on human genes tend to deter competition in the gene testing market more than they encourage further development of new technologies for measuring the risk of disease.
Medical science is on the brink of mainstreaming genetic discovery into patient care. But patents and exclusive licensing threaten to fragment ownership of the human genome and derail the promise of personalized medicine for everyone, observed James P. Evans, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Professor of Genetics at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, in his commentary on a new report from Duke University that focused on the impact of patenting and exclusive licensing of human genes.
