The patent truth

Last week, the US Supreme Court ruled that naturally occurring genes cannot be patented, reversing a trend that has allowed over 20 per cent of the human genome to be patented by biotech companies. The case was brought by the American Association for Molecular Pathology and other interested parties against Myriad Genetics, a company that owns patents on two human genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. Mutations in these genes can cause an increased risk for a woman to develop breast or ovarian cancer.

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