Gene patenting – a Genome Medicine twitter chat - March 27th UK/EST

Gene patenting

The biotechnology company Myriad Genetics holds US and European patents on the breast cancer risk genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 and sells a diagnostic test based on these. The ethics, legality and scientific validity of these patents have been extensively debated, from the courts to the blogosphere, and on April 15th 2013, this topic is back in the limelight as the Supreme Court considers a legal challenge on the case. Many other companies also hold gene patents, and the implications and controversies are wide-ranging......  

With this in mind, it seems like a good time to discuss this topic further. So, what are your views on gene patenting? For a chance to have your say, join Genome Medicine, author Christopher Mason, and others for a one-hour twitter chat on Wednesday 27 March at 2pm UK time (10am EST).  The twitter chat will use the hashtag #GMpatents, and be moderated from the @GenomeMedicine account.
The questions we’ll be discussing during the chat are:

1. What is an ‘isolated DNA’? How scientifically valid is this definition?
2. Should genes be patented at all, and if so under what conditions?
3. Does gene patenting drive scientific impact, or impede research?
4. What is the impact of DNA patenting on other areas of orthogonal research, like epigenomics or transcriptomics?
5. What are the medical and clinical implications if the Supreme Court ruling is successfully challenged ?
6. Would you start testing BRCA1 or other patented genes in your lab if the patents are invalidated?