As scientists successfully decode and isolate human DNA in the race for new drugs, the ability to protect and profit from what they find has yet to be mapped.
A federal appeals court is poised to tie that loose end when it hears arguments tomorrow on whether it should be legal to obtain U.S. patents on genetic material and on methods of using that DNA for medical diagnoses and treatments. Myriad Genetics Inc. (MYGN) (MYGN) has already built a business around the practice, part of an industry that has staked a claim to as much as 20 percent of known human protein-coding genes.
Madeleine Ball, a Harvard University geneticist, said entire regions of the human genome are at risk of becoming inaccessible to anyone who can’t afford to pay for patent licenses, stifling the information-sharing that’s vital to scientific progress. For personalized medicine companies like Optimal Medicine Ltd., the patents are about protecting billions of dollars invested in years of research.
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