[url=http://www.canada.com/vancouver/story.asp?id={0D0279FC-B2F4-48CA-9A46-6DFF52DE2173}]http://www.canada.com/vancouver/story.asp?id={0D0279FC-B2F4-48CA-9A46-6DFF52DE2173}[/url]
A company has patented gene sequences, ranging from hereditary breast cancer to prostate cancer. They're tripling their price of breast cancer tests in B.C., probably to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Like the article says, how long until this company jacks the price up again? And how long until they boost the prices for every test affiliated with the genes they have patented.
What a great way to enforce their mandate of providing cost effective tools.
Myriad Genetics owns you.
Hrmm,
As much as i typically am inclined to side with the company that everyone wants to rip off after it takes a huge risk by spending money on research that might never amount to anything, I think the critics of this particular company have a point. I don't understand how a particular gene sequence can be patented. I'm by no means an expert in that area, but i've always had the impression that the patent applied to an invention, something created by people. A gene sequence is created by either god or just a fluke of luck over millions of years. Wouldn't the more appropriate patent be for the actual breat cancer test the company developed using its knowledge of gene sequences?
Corth
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Goddamned slippery mage.
As much as i typically am inclined to side with the company that everyone wants to rip off after it takes a huge risk by spending money on research that might never amount to anything, I think the critics of this particular company have a point. I don't understand how a particular gene sequence can be patented. I'm by no means an expert in that area, but i've always had the impression that the patent applied to an invention, something created by people. A gene sequence is created by either god or just a fluke of luck over millions of years. Wouldn't the more appropriate patent be for the actual breat cancer test the company developed using its knowledge of gene sequences?
Corth
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Goddamned slippery mage.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Corth:
<B>Hrmm,
As much as i typically am inclined to side with the company that everyone wants to rip off after it takes a huge risk by spending money on research that might never amount to anything, I think the critics of this particular company have a point. I don't understand how a particular gene sequence can be patented. I'm by no means an expert in that area, but i've always had the impression that the patent applied to an invention, something created by people. A gene sequence is created by either god or just a fluke of luck over millions of years. Wouldn't the more appropriate patent be for the actual breat cancer test the company developed using its knowledge of gene sequences?
Corth
</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I worked in that field for a couple years. (well, OK, so I interned). I got to sit down with an NIH director and ask him how on earth our genes could be patented. Basically, his responses were thus: Well, no, technically you can't patent our genes, because that would mean you could never use them without the patentholder's permission, i.e. babies could not grow, etc. Obviously this is ludicrous. But due to the way the system is set up (read: pragmatism), when there is a company pouring millions into research, they expect to get patents out of it... If we took away the patents, they'd take away their money, the industry would collapse, etc. So to avoid disaster, the government awards patents on the use of the genetic information (because it presumably wasn't known explicity before said scientist sequenced it).
And that was the last time he sat down to talk to me one-to-one
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Daz group-says 'rofl, moritheil is the mcdonald's of death'
<B>Hrmm,
As much as i typically am inclined to side with the company that everyone wants to rip off after it takes a huge risk by spending money on research that might never amount to anything, I think the critics of this particular company have a point. I don't understand how a particular gene sequence can be patented. I'm by no means an expert in that area, but i've always had the impression that the patent applied to an invention, something created by people. A gene sequence is created by either god or just a fluke of luck over millions of years. Wouldn't the more appropriate patent be for the actual breat cancer test the company developed using its knowledge of gene sequences?
Corth
</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I worked in that field for a couple years. (well, OK, so I interned). I got to sit down with an NIH director and ask him how on earth our genes could be patented. Basically, his responses were thus: Well, no, technically you can't patent our genes, because that would mean you could never use them without the patentholder's permission, i.e. babies could not grow, etc. Obviously this is ludicrous. But due to the way the system is set up (read: pragmatism), when there is a company pouring millions into research, they expect to get patents out of it... If we took away the patents, they'd take away their money, the industry would collapse, etc. So to avoid disaster, the government awards patents on the use of the genetic information (because it presumably wasn't known explicity before said scientist sequenced it).
And that was the last time he sat down to talk to me one-to-one
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Daz group-says 'rofl, moritheil is the mcdonald's of death'
Nods, Moritheil. Obviously the company should be entitled to turn as large a profit as the market will bear. They take huge monetary risks in that industry and most of their research projects end up being failures. And obviously it is in the best interest of society that companies have an incentive to conduct such research. If the company in question had no way of making money off their research, they wouldn't have done the research, and this uber breast cancer test would not exist. But to say that you can patent something as universal as human genetics just seems strange, no matter what the legal fiction they use to justify it. I guess for the time being its a workable system. I certainly have no problem with them charging as much money as they can get for the test however.. if they charge too much, they won't make any money anyway since nobody will use it.
Corth
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Goddamned slippery mage.
Corth
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Goddamned slippery mage.
It sounds like this test cannot be developed by another company because of the patented gene. I understand raising prices - it looks like that company had only one good year out of four, financially - but yeah, patenting genes does go too far if only because they can claim children as their property, can ban development of other tests which use the properties of that gene sequence, etc.
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Kerath
- Sojourner
- Posts: 62
- Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2001 6:01 am
- Location: Thornhill, Ontario, Canada
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Wow, it's touching to know that no one will do any research for the betterment of mankind unless they can have complete control of the results for the purposes of squeezing the maximum amount of profits from it. And people wonder why I become depressed when I ponder humanity.
I'm not saying that you're some horrible, evil person if this is how you operate. It's pretty much necessary to think this way in today's society, as far as I can tell. I'm just sad that things have gotten to this point; it just seems like there should be a better way, but if there is, then I wouldn't presume to know it. Not yet, anyway.
I'm not saying that you're some horrible, evil person if this is how you operate. It's pretty much necessary to think this way in today's society, as far as I can tell. I'm just sad that things have gotten to this point; it just seems like there should be a better way, but if there is, then I wouldn't presume to know it. Not yet, anyway.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Kerath:
<B>Wow, it's touching to know that no one will do any research for the betterment of mankind unless they can have complete control of the results for the purposes of squeezing the maximum amount of profits from it. And people wonder why I become depressed when I ponder humanity.
I'm not saying that you're some horrible, evil person if this is how you operate. It's pretty much necessary to think this way in today's society, as far as I can tell. I'm just sad that things have gotten to this point; it just seems like there should be a better way, but if there is, then I wouldn't presume to know it. Not yet, anyway.</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
And that, Kerath, is The Game vs. Justice
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Daz group-says 'rofl, moritheil is the mcdonald's of death'
<B>Wow, it's touching to know that no one will do any research for the betterment of mankind unless they can have complete control of the results for the purposes of squeezing the maximum amount of profits from it. And people wonder why I become depressed when I ponder humanity.
I'm not saying that you're some horrible, evil person if this is how you operate. It's pretty much necessary to think this way in today's society, as far as I can tell. I'm just sad that things have gotten to this point; it just seems like there should be a better way, but if there is, then I wouldn't presume to know it. Not yet, anyway.</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
And that, Kerath, is The Game vs. Justice
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Daz group-says 'rofl, moritheil is the mcdonald's of death'
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Grungar
- Sojourner
- Posts: 967
- Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2001 6:01 am
- Location: Somewhere on the east coast, usually.
- Contact:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by moritheil:
And that, Kerath, is The Game vs. Justice</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Hence the reason I'm giving up biochemistry. Fuck the game, fuck the politics, pardon the harsh language. I'm still getting the degree; it'll come in handy in case I run out of toilet paper or something. I'm moving to Canada to farm ice. I'm going to live in an igloo, I'll have a polar bear with a saddle for transportation, and a pet penguin (Chilly Willy, haa hee hachoo) to talk to. It's going to be awesome.
Maybe that or I'll switch to interpretive dance...
- Grungar "Two words: Funky funky funky, funky Kingston" Forgefire
And that, Kerath, is The Game vs. Justice
</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Hence the reason I'm giving up biochemistry. Fuck the game, fuck the politics, pardon the harsh language. I'm still getting the degree; it'll come in handy in case I run out of toilet paper or something. I'm moving to Canada to farm ice. I'm going to live in an igloo, I'll have a polar bear with a saddle for transportation, and a pet penguin (Chilly Willy, haa hee hachoo) to talk to. It's going to be awesome.
Maybe that or I'll switch to interpretive dance...
- Grungar "Two words: Funky funky funky, funky Kingston" Forgefire
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