The Supreme Court does the right thing on human genetic patent
by David Atkins
The Supreme Court has finally found the one piece of corporate malfeasance a step too far even for the court’s conservatives: patenting the human genome:
Almost immediately after the Supreme Court ruled that human genes could not be patented, several laboratories announced they, too, would begin offering genetic testing for breast cancer risk, making it likely that that test and others could become more affordable and more widely available.
The ruling in effect ends a nearly two-decade monopoly by Myriad Genetics, the company at the center of the case.
“It levels the playing field; we can all go out and compete,” said Sherri Bale, managing director of GeneDx, a testing company, which plans to offer a test for breast cancer risk. “This is going to make a lot more genetic tests available, especially for rare diseases.”
One suspects that regardless of the text of the ruling, religious beliefs probably helped sway a few of the conservative jurors.
Whatever the case may be, this one is a win not only for public health but for the future of the entire human race.
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