Gene patenting deters new medical innovation and increases health care costs
Alex Moss, 24 - the executive director of the Public Interest Patent Law Institute. She was previously at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a patent litigator at Sullivan & Cromwell. After graduating from Stanford Law School, she served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Timothy B. Dyk of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Letter to Senators Durbin, Coons, Tillis, and Representatives Issa and Lofgren on the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2023, signed by American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Generation Patient, Public Citizen, Public Interest Patent Law Institute, and the R Street Institute. 1/30, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60e5457fb89be21d705fa914/t/65b9687cbb120871dd820938/1706649724600/Public+Interest+Letter+re+PERA+-+01.30.24.pdf //DH
Patents on genetic information and uses thereof will not only limit the availability of current medical diagnostics and treatments, but also harm the availability of future health innovations. Because patents allow their owners to block competition, they would empower their owners to block competition from those who would otherwise offer more effective or affordable tests and treatments. This exclusionary power would, in turn, deter researchers from developing new tests and treatments for life-threatening and debilitating conditions, like cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. The result will be medical care that is more expensive, less innovative, and less accessible than it is today—just as it was in the days before the Myriad decision.