As Myriad Genetics prepares to defend its seven patents on the BRCA genes, which are associated with a higher risk of breast, ovarian, and other cancers, James Watson, famed co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, has weighed in, arguing against the patenting of genes on the basis that they are products of nature.
“In addition to understanding the uniqueness of human DNA, I hope that an awareness of the Human Genome Project’s history will guide the Court to the correct decision that human genes, as products of nature, should not be patented,” Watson wrote in an amicus brief filed this week with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. “The human genome project was intended to benefit all, not just select companies,” added Watson, who said that he left his post that the National Institutes of Health when the agency began pursuing gene patents.
In July 2011, ...
