AN OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY,

PURPOSE, ETHICS, AND MORALS OF

GENE PATENTING
 ABSTRACT
If you invent something,
• Patents serve a purpose to protect property and inventions. wouldn’t you want to
protect your assets from
• Patent-holders can restrict access to the inventions they own. competition and prying
eyes?
• Genetic Technology and Inventions can be patented.

Is it ethical to patent such a powerful invention, what are the ethical implications?

This presentation will give a general overview of the following:

Purpose of Gene Ethical Controversy of

History of Gene Patents
Patents Gene Patents

WOODGROVE 2
BANK
 WHAT IS A PATENT? Along with any new technology,
many may want ownership and
• Patents are legal titles that give owners specific rights: rights over the very thing they
discovered. In the case of genes,
ownership and rights are also
• Excluding, barring other non-patent holders manufacturing, researching
applied but who gets to say what
or utilizing an invention (Merz & Cho, 2005). inventions or genes can be one
person’s property?
• Patents don’t last forever; but can last for a very long time.

• Historical examples of technology patents are insulin and epinephrine (adrenaline).

• Controversy arises from the utilization of patents on genetic technology or inventions to

also include genes themselves.

WOODGROVE 3
BANK
 GENE PATENT HISTORY
• In the 1980s, there was a rapid expansion of technology and
techniques in the field of genetics (Merz & Cho, 2005). Should genes be considered a form
of intellectual property?

• New inventions in a relatively new field means there is potential to discover

and find new inventions.

• If you discover or invent something, then you would want to protect your assets.

• Protection occurs with patents.

• Gene patents can prevent others from researching, selling or utilizing inventions
(Rettner, 2013).

WOODGROVE 4
BANK
 WHO IS AFFECTED?
• Stakeholders would include: Patent-holders can affect the field
they are in by restricting access to
• Companies an invention if they choose to do
• Individual inventors so; it usually makes sense to do so
• Investors from a monetary perspective
• Government
• Healthcare Professionals
• Patients
• Offspring

• Whoever owns the rights to a specific invention will determine on how the invention
can be utilized or if it can be utilized at all.

• Restriction of using powerful and useful technology or inventions can have both
beneficial and detrimental implications.

WOODGROVE 5
BANK
 PROS OF PATENTS
• Patents can provide the holder with numerous benefits:
• Little to no competition
• Increase research time without worry
Finances and resource investment
into new technology research and
development is crucial in order to
fully manufacture a working
product for usage in the clinical
setting.

• Can help smaller companies and organizations

• Can prevent monopolies from occurring

• Can help smaller companies gain financial interest

• Encourages economical choices and financial investment (Huang, 2013).

• Patented gene inventions can be brought from the research and development setting
into the clinical setting where it may benefit patient care or treatment options.
WOODGROVE 6
BANK
 CONS OF PATENTS
If one company owns the rights to
• Patents can be detrimental to other parties: a procedure, test, test kit,
machinery and infrastructure to
• Restriction can be a hinderance to research as well as support a specific diagnostic
clinical test,
care
then that one company will receive
(Huang, 2013). all patient samples for that test.

• Restriction can last for as long as the patent lasts, sometimes 20 years or so
(Merz & Cho, 2005).

• Collaborative research and development efforts can speed up development;

however, patents may restrict this.

• No competition may cause stagnation.

• Monopolies can still occur if a bigger organization or company has the rights to an
invention.

• Patented inventions could affect patient result reporting and turn-around-time.

WOODGROVE 7
BANK
 RECENT HISTORY
• Pros and cons were considered in 1991 and 2001 as more
Who makes the determination of
patents for genes were being submitted (Merz & Cho, 2005). what can be patented and what
can’t be?
• These concerns brought about a categorization of gene
inventions with 3 different categories of patents:
• Diagnostic Invention Patents
• Ex: Testing methods, PCR, Gene hybridization, etc…
• Invented Genetic Matter Patents
• Artificial organs
• Genes themselves, i.e BRCA 1 gene (this was later overturned)
• Gene-altering Invention Patents
• Ex: CRISPR

• Supreme Court ruled that patenting of genes themselves would no longer be allowed in
the case of Pathology v. Myriad Genetics (Rettner, 2013).
• 4300 gene patents were invalidated from this ruling.

WOODGROVE 8
BANK
 ETHICAL CONCERNS
• Non-Maleficence At the expense of patients,
• Secretive culture between companies hinders research companies may opt to
• Stagnation of research and opportunity cost is also restrict inventions with
considered. patents to profit and bar
• Selfishness and greed do not minimize harm.
themselves from
• Beneficence: competition (Huang, 2013)
• Do patents provide good intentions?
• To a certain extent; however, restriction affects patients and research efforts and thus not well-
intended.

• Justice:
• Legally, intellectual property should be protected, if you invent something, shouldn’t you be
able to own the rights to that genetic invention like in any other field?
• May be considered equal or unequal depending on perspective of stakeholder
• Equal distribution of testing or options SHOULD be offered to all patients; patents can restrict
this and thus distribution is UNEQUAL and UNFAIR.

• Autonomy:
• May not affect patients, if only one option for a test is available then that is the only option
• What about the autonomy of patent-holders? Should they have to give-up the rights to their
WOODGROVE
invention for the greater good? BANK 9
 REFERENCES
Huang, Y. (2013, December). Gene patents: A broken incentives system. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3819421/

Merz, J., & Cho, M. (2005). What are gene patents and why are people worried about them? Retrieved

from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2220018/

Rettner, R. (2013, April 16). 4 ways the gene patent ruling affects you. Retrieved from

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/4-ways-the-gene-patient-r/

All images utilized were stock images provided through Microsoft Powerpoint.
THANK YOU!
Ian Sibal