Stanford filelib1/6/2024 ![]() In the case of BRCA1 and BRCA2, the private American firm Myriad Genetics has been granted several patents, providing it with a monopoly over the diagnostic and therapeutic activities based on these genes. In the third section we use the case of genetic testing for breast cancer, linked to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, to illustrate the issues raised by these new patents. This will impede the design and marketing of products developed using the same genetic information, with serious consequences not only for the future of research but also for the whole chain of medical practice. We show that the major problem posed by these patents, which benefit from an extremely large scope, including “future” and “potential” applications, is that they are likely to give rise to widespread monopolies. ![]() In the second section we explain why the granting of this new type of “upstream” patent, exemplified by patents on genes, is so significant. Taking the genetic testing of breast cancer as an example, we show how the granting of these large-scope patents, covering upstream scientific information, is likely to have very damaging consequences as far downstream as the health care system itself. The aim of this chapter is to explore the medical and health care implications of the growing tendency to grant patents on human genes. Not surprisingly, this case has become a focal point in Canada and Europe for debates about the social and ethical The Myriad case is a harbinger of an increasing number of instances where gene patents provide companies with monopolies on the development, marketing, and provision of genetic tests and therapeutics. The paper then focuses on Myriad's devel- opment and control of public and commercial BRCA testing in the United States, their recent moves to enforce the patents and establish markets in Europe and Canada, and the mounting Canadian and international opposition to Myriad's commercialization and control of BRCA testing. Following a brief discussion of the aetiology of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, the founding of Myriad Genetics and its transformation into a biopharmaceutical company is examined as part of the larger context of the international race to discover and patent the BRCA genes. The objective of this paper is to provide such a description of one particular case, namely the patenting by Myriad Genetics of the two genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. But in order to conduct a comprehensive analysis of even one of these issues, it is crucial to first develop a detailed understanding of the particular history and context that have shaped the issue. ![]() The patenting and commercialization of human genetic material raises a host of complex social, ethical, and policy issues, such as the potential for discrimination or stigmatization in access to health care services or employment, the exploitation of minority or indigenous communities in DNA prospecting, and the implications for ongoing biomedical research and access to health care services.
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