Human Gene Patents 'Surprisingly High,' A New Study Shows

At least 18.5% of human genes are covered by U.S. patents, say researchers who have produced the first comprehensive map of the patent landscape for the genome.

The researchers called the figure "surprisingly high" and their findings, published in Friday's issue of the journal Science, are likely to add fuel to an already heated debate over ownership and the right to exploit human gene sequences commercially.

U.S. and European patent law preclude anyone from patenting a gene as it exists in the human body. But for several decades, inventors and institutions have been filing for patents by claiming a proprietary way of isolating the genes or developing a specific therapeutic use for them that is claimed to be unique.

They have also been making similar claims over the specific proteins that each gene instructs cells to produce. A well-known example is erythropoietin, a blood protein manufactured as the blockbuster drug Epogen to stimulate the production of red blood cells and whose patent rights are owned by Amgen Corp.

But gene patents can still be subject to dispute. BRCA1, a gene...