The case for and against the patenting of genes

A draft study commissioned by the U.S. secretary of health and human services found no evidence that gene patents inhibited research, or that taking them away would matter either.

One point in Myriad's favor - the company has created a good test, said geneticist Richard Fishel, who studies colon cancer genes at Ohio State University.

It's a complicated test, said Fishel, and it's not obvious how to interpret the results. While there are dozens of possible cancer-causing mutations, there are also harmless ways the genetic sequences vary from person to person.

Myriad has spent years developing what's called bioinformatics - the creation of huge databases they can draw on to discern the cancer-prone versions of these genes from the healthy ones. Myriad has used the same techniques to develop genetic tests for colon-cancer risk.

Whatever the courts decide, the completion of the Human Genome Project a decade ago essentially stopped all new gene patenting by mapping and sequencing all as-yet-unpatented genes. That means the last gene patents will expire by 2020.

Contact staff writer Faye Flam at 215-854-4977 or fflam@phillynews.com.