20% of the Genome is Now Under Patent
In Science today, Kyle Jensen and Fiona Murray at Massachusetts Institute of Technology calculated the proportion of human genes that had been patented by comparing the genetic sequences claimed in US patents to genes listed in the National Centre for Biotechnology Information gene database. They found that nearly 20% of the human genome, or 4,382 of the known 23, 688 human genes, have been patented, with over half owned by private companies. Around 63% of the patents are assigned to private firms, with one firm, Incyte Pharmaceuticals/Incyte Genomics, having intellectual property rights covering 2,000 human genes.contribute a comment
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Does anybody else find this disturbing? It seems to me that this is information that should be shared and used for the greater good, not just for one company's shareholders.
- by Linda MacDonald Glenn on Oct 22, 2005 at 4:08 PM | link
While this is certainly problematic and strange, the biotech companies need such ownership rights to survive in our capitalist society. The government is not dedicating enough funds to science to replace the loss of biotech companies that would result from a ban on gene (and other scientific) patents.
- by Melissa Davis on Oct 24, 2005 at 11:12 PM | link