The charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has obtained a Europe-wide patent on the BRCA2 gene, which is involved in hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. It intends to make the patent freely available to publicly-funded laboratories across the continent, so that research and diagnostic work on the gene can continue. The situation was previously complicated by patents held by US firm Myriad Genetics, on BRCA2 and another gene involved in breast cancer, called BRCA1.
Most breast and ovarian cancers are not inherited, but around 5-10 per cent are caused by inherited mutations - many of them in one of two genes, called BRCA1 and BRCA2. Myriad Genetics has faced criticism from scientists, governments and patient groups opposed to the patents that it holds on tests that look for mutations in these two genes. However, CRUK holds a UK patent on BRCA2, which is apparently wider than Myriad's and so covers more applications.
Cancer Research Technologies Limited (CRT), the commercial subsidiary of CRUK, has now successfully applied for a European patent on BRCA2, and has agreed to waive the fees for all public laboratories wishing to work on the gene. 'Myriad had been trying to offer commercial deals to researchers working on BRCA1 and 2' said John Toy, medical director of CRUK, adding that 'our patents will break that gridlock'.
CRUK was granted the BRCA2 patent on the basis that it funded much of the work that lead to the gene's discovery, at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, in 1995. The announcement was welcomed by Gert Matthijs, of University Hospital Leuven, in Belgium, speaking on behalf of the European Society of Human Genetics. He told The Scientist magazine that the BRCA2 patent issue illustrates why Europe needs new legislation on the licensing of genes and genetic tests. 'If someone holds a patent on a gene, it creates a monopoly because no-one can invent a competing product as they could with other items, such as drugs' he explained.
Sources and References
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Charities to make breast cancer (BRCA2) gene freely available across Europe
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Charity makes cancer gene freely available across Europe
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Charity wins BRCA2 patent
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Charity gets Europe-wide patent on breast cancer gene
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