This Biotech Company Wants the Power to Deny Patients Access to Their Own Genetic Information
by Sarah Lazare
Alternet
Myriad Genetics has already provoked ire for its former monopoly on testing for genes associated with breast, ovarian and prostate cancer.
The biotechnology company Myriad Genetics is infamous for patenting the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes—which are associated with breast, ovarian and prostate cancers—and then using the patents to establish a monopoly on research and prevent other laboratories from testing patients for increased risk.
While the company was forced to halt these practices in 2013 by the Supreme Court, which ruled that it is not lawful to patent human genetic material, Myriad faces a fresh lawsuit over charges that it is illegally denying its clients access to their own genetic information.
The ACLU explained in a statement released last Thursday:
The complaint was filed on behalf of four people who underwent genetic testing with Myriad to determine their hereditary risk and treatment options for breast, ovarian, and bladder cancers. The patients requested that Myriad provide their full genetic records, including genetic variants that Myriad identified as benign but did not list in their test reports. The company refused, stating the patients were not entitled to that information.
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Source: http://www.riseearth.com/2016/05/this-biotech-company-wants-power-to.html
