One of the countrys premiere pediatric hospitals is challenging the notion that human genes can be patented by filing a lawsuit that, if successful, could lead to a rewriting of patent law and sharply advance the advent of personalized medicine. The Childrens Hospital of Eastern Ontario argues in court filings that restricting access to genetic information by researchers and clinicians undermines patient care and is morally and legally untenable. No one should be able to patent human DNA. Its like trying to patent water or air, said Alex Munter, chief executive officer of CHEO. He noted that Canada is one of the only jurisdictions in the Western world that still allows gene patenting. This poses a significant obstacle to diagnosing and caring for children with a genetic condition and that cant be tolerated, he said. Conversely, striking down the law, will open the door to an era of personalized medicine, where treatments are tailored to specific genetic characteristics. Mr. Munter said CHEO is taking on the case because it is a leader in genetic research, particularly in the field of rare diseases, but many institutions will benefit if it is successful. Lawyers for the hospital who are working pro bono … Continue reading →

Seth Weinberg, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, looks at a three-dimensional image of his head. He is involved in genetic research into clefting. PITTSBURGH | Cleft lips and palates in newborns can frighten parents at first, while at the same time the cause of such dramatic impacts on function and appearance has long mystified doctors and scientists. Those factors led Mary Marazita, who holds a doctoral degree in genetics, to begin researching the genetic causes of clefts in the 1980s. Since then her research team has widened its focus to include many physical and health impacts that blood relatives of people with clefts can experience from shared gene variants. While the cleft lip is the most obvious consequence of those variants, Marazita and her team at the Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine have been working to understand the genetic causes of the more hidden physical and health impacts. Such abnormalities can include alterations and weaknesses in facial structure and tissue, with a higher risk of developing problems such as poor wound healing and even ovarian, breast and prostate cancers, among others. A 2011 study … Continue reading →

An Ottawa hospital is challenging the legality of gene patents that hamper the ability of doctors to freely screen for potentially deadly genetic diseases without fear of being sued forpatent violations. On Monday, the Childrens Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) started a legal process in Federal Court that could decide if human genes can be patented in Canada. "Its about whether Canadian hospitals can provide genetic testing to Canadian patients and really give them the top quality of care," said Richard Gold, a lawyer and intellectual property expert at McGill University in Montreal, who is advising the hospital pro bono. Currently, some genetic tests cant be done in Canada because U.S. companies hold patents on the tests and the genes and have threatened legal action if the patents are violated by doing the tests in Canada, rather than the U.S. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that naturallyoccurring human genes cant be patented and threw out patents held by Myriad Genetics Inc. to look for mutations on the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes associated with much greater risks of breast and ovarian cancer,including a mutation that actorAngelina Jolie revealed she inherited. CHEOs case centres on patents for genes … Continue reading →