Entire Human Genome Is Patented By For-Profit Companies

You can own your house and your car, but you can't own your own genes, thanks to the handful of companies who have already patented more than 40,000 DNA molecules, essentially claiming the entire human genome for profit, according to a new study.

Genes are the cellular chemicals that define who you are and what diseases you might be at risk for. The new findings raise moral and ethical alarms over the loss of individual "genetic liberty."

The research, led by Dr. Christopher E. Mason of New York's Weill Cornell College of Medicine, analyzed long and short fragments of DNA sequences and discovered that 41 percent of the human genome is covered by long DNA patents that often cover whole genes.

Taking into account an aggregate of the "short sequence" patents, 100 percent of the human genome could be seen as patented by companies.

"If these patents are enforced, our genomic liberty is lost," said Dr. Mason, who has an impressive set of credentials at the college's Institute for Computational Biomedicine. "Just as we enter the era of personalized medicine, we are ironically living in the most restrictive age of genomics. You have to ask, how is it possible that my doctor cannot look at my DNA without being concerned about patent infringement?"

Incidentally, the U.S. Supreme Court will review genomic patent rights regarding two key breast and ovarian cancer genes in an upcoming hearing on April 15.

In the course of his research Mason and his team discovered that one company had the patent rights to nearly 700 human genes.

"This means if the Supreme Court upholds the current scope of the patents, no physician or researcher can study the DNA of these genes from their patients, and no diagnostic test or drug can be developed based on any of these genes without infringing a patent," said Mason in a statement.

Under current U.S. patent law, companies who are the first to find a gene can patent it on the promise of useful application, such as a diagnostic test.

Mason comes across patented genes in his research as often as New York driver honk their horns - every day.

"I am extremely pro-patent, but I simply believe that people should not be able to patent a product of nature," Dr. Mason says. "Moreover, I believe that individuals have an innate right to their own genome, or to allow their doctor to look at that genome, just like the lungs or kidneys. Failure to resolve these ambiguities perpetuates a direct threat to genomic liberty, or the right to one's own DNA."