"Amanda Wilson" - ACLU Will Take Gene Patent Case to Supreme Court
October 17, 2011 Published on Sunday, October 16, 2011 by Inter Press Service
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/10/16-2
by Amanda Wilson
According to her, "comprehensive" breast cancer test from Myriad for other breast cancer mutations costs 3,400 dollars and a supplementary test for the BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 genes, called the BART test, costs 700 dollars. Matloff said that 95 percent of patients she recommends for supplementary testing don't end up being tested because of its high cost.
"I know that we are missing mutations," Matloff told IPS, adding that the BRCA gene mutations are passed down maternally and paternally. "It is going to impact them, their children, their siblings their grandchildren, their nieces and nephews, and from a clinician's standpoint it is horrifying."
Gene patenting opponents also argue that in a new era in which full- genome sequencing is getting faster and cheaper, patents stand in the way of access to new knowledge about how certain genes are related to disease.
"The whole next phase of [research in] genetics and disease is to understand how genes work together," Hanson told IPS. "It is a huge task, and the patents just interfere with it."
Matloff expressed a similar concern that advanced knowledge about genes without access to that knowledge could create problems for patients and care providers.
"It is almost like saying, 'we have your genes right in front of us, it came out of your body, but we are not allowed to look at it, we're not allowed to interpret it, and we are not allowed to give the information back to you,'" Matloff said.
"It's kind of like saying two of your genes are in jail, but we are not allowed to report this information to you, even though it would save your life."