Don’t Let Congress Allow Human Genes to Be Patented

Publication Date: Jun 27, 2019

Urge Congress to Oppose Legislation That Could Reverse Supreme Court Decision

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ASCP is urging all our members to contact their elected representatives in Washington, D.C., to request their opposition to legislation to amend the U.S. Patent Act. The draft legislation could allow companies to patent human genes and other laws of nature. This creates the possibility that patents could interfere with clinical care, scientific research, innovation and patient access to critical, life-saving health information like genetic test results. Rather than promoting innovation, patents on the fundamental building blocks of nature can stop scientific inquiry and deny patients information about their health. ASCP has joined together with over 160 medical specialty and other associations in writing Congressional leaders in opposition to the proposed changes to the U.S. Patent Act.

In 2013, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of a lawsuit filed by the Association for Molecular Pathology, ASCP and others, arguing that the U.S. Patent and Trade Office (PTO) erred when it awarded several patents to Myriad Genetics covering the BRCA1 and BRCA genes. The patent allowed Myriad exclusive rights to assess the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer based on the BRCA 1/2 genes. ASCP and the other plaintiffs argued that the patent violated §101 of the Patent Act because they were laws of nature and that they limit scientific progress. Under the Patent Act, three categories of “inventions” are not patentable: laws of nature, natural phenomena and abstract ideas. In deciding the case, the U.S. Supreme Court held in AMP v. Myriad Genetics that naturally occurring gene sequence and their natural derivatives products are NOT patent eligible.

Click here for a recent Washington Post story on the proposed legislation.

We must all urge members of Congress to oppose this draft bill, which threatens patient care, as well as scientific research and innovation.

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