In Australia, Gene Patents Also Subject of High Court Struggle
By Leigh Dayton,
Science
| 04. 19. 2013
The U.S. Supreme Court isn't the only high court considering a precedent-setting case on patenting human genes. Australia's Full Federal Court this week began proceedings in an appeal of an earlier decision that upheld the validity of breast cancer diagnostic tests developed by Myriad Genetics—the same tests that were the subject of
oral argument before the U.S. high court earlier this week.The Australian legal jousting comes as that nation's policymakers pursue a trio of initiatives that could have far-reaching implications for how Australia handles biomedical patents, including those on human genes. On 2 April, a draft report on pharmaceutical patents that calls for limiting the reach of intellectual property (IP) was unveiled. On 5 April, the government released an independent government review of health and medical research that argues for allowing human gene patents. And on 15 April, a new law that updates the country's patent system came into effect, but it mostly sidesteps the gene patenting issue.
Amid this flurry of activity, many eyes are on the court case, which focuses on the validity of patents held by...
Related Articles
By Jason Liebowitz, The New Yorker | 03.06.2026
When Talaya Reid was in high school, in a quiet suburb of Philadelphia, she developed fatigue so severe that she spent afternoons napping instead of going out with friends. She was lethargic at school and her grades suffered, but after...
By Scott Solomon, The MIT Press Reader | 02.12.2026
Chris Mason is a man in a hurry.
“Sometimes walking from the subway to the lab takes too long, so I’ll start running,” he told me over breakfast at a bistro near his home in Brooklyn on a crisp...
By Katrina Miller, The New York TImes | 02.05.2026
Joseph Yracheta: The Native Biodata Consortium is the first nonprofit data and sample repository within the geographic bounds and legal jurisdiction of an American Indian nation, on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in Eagle Butte, S.D.
NativeBio participated in a ...
By David Jensen, California Stem Cell Report | 02.10.2026
Touchy issues involving accusations that California’s $12 billion gene and stem cell research agency is pushing aside “good science” in favor of new priorities and preferences will be aired again in late March at a public meeting in Sacramento.
The...