I request that Angelina Jolie ,the media, and the government start talking about corporate patents on human genes to the public so that we can avoid unjust laws from being passed.
An imminent Supreme Court decision could make or break the human gene testing industry. Trillions of dollars are at stake. If the Supreme Court rules against corporate patents on human genes, BRCA1 testing will become amazingly affordable (in the $100 range), thereby denying billions of dollars in profits to gene patent holders.
Why is this important?
In the wake of Angelina Jolie’s exhortation for “every woman” to explore their risk of breast cancer, one company stands to make a staggering profit.The BRCA1 gene for breast cancer is patented by a corporation called Myriad Genetics. All patents are government-enforced monopolies over intellectual property, and they thus prevent anyone else from conducting research or testing on the BRCA1 gene without paying huge royalties to Myriad. This is why the BRCA detection tests cost $3,000 - $4,000 each.
If there were no patents on human genes these tests would cost much cheaper . But since patents are allowed, Angelina Jolie's announcement of a double mastectomy even though she had no breast cancer caused the stock price of Myriad to skyrocket to a 52-week high.
Our genes are ours, There is no right for a corporation to have a patent on our bodies and thereby make tremendous profits from health care! Why has the media drawn such attention to Angelina's act but ignored this basic fundamental flaw in the laws!
