Law Trails Behind as Disputes Over Genetic Patents Intensify
Lisbeth Ceriani
Photo by Webb Chappell/
Wonderful Machine
After being diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer, Lisbeth Ceriani had a double mastectomy last year followed by chemotherapy that caused her hair to fall out in clumps.
Just when she thought the worst was over, she learned that some of the genes in her body that led to the cancer were patented.
Myriad Genetics, based in Salt Lake City, holds patents on two genes and their mutations that have been linked to hereditary forms of breast and ovarian cancer. As a result, the private biotech company offers the only genetic screening tests for the diseases.
Ceriani, a 43-year-old single mother who works part time and lives in a Boston suburb, needs to know whether she is at risk for ovarian cancer and should have her ovaries removed. But she can’t afford the $3,200 genetic test.
“When I found out there was a patent on the gene and not on the test, it was quite astonishing,” Ceriani says. “My life is absolutely at risk. There is a potential time bomb ticking inside of me, and I just have to wait and see unless I get this test done.”
As scientists break barriers in understanding genetic links for various diseases, the law is trailing close behind, raising questions about whether the fundamental building blocks of life should be patented. The answers will have lasting impacts for patients, doctors and the burgeoning biotech sector.
Click here to read the full story online from this month’s ABA Journal.
Note: Register for this month’s CLE, “The Patent Law Cure,” from 1-2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, July 15.
