{"id":11958,"date":"2012-03-27T13:12:41","date_gmt":"2012-03-27T17:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pmedicine.org\/epatients\/archives\/2012\/03\/the-brca-patents-the-supreme-court-and-empowered-healthcare-consumers.html"},"modified":"2012-03-27T13:30:01","modified_gmt":"2012-03-27T17:30:01","slug":"the-brca-patents-the-supreme-court-and-empowered-healthcare-consumers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/participatorymedicine.org\/epatients\/2012\/03\/the-brca-patents-the-supreme-court-and-empowered-healthcare-consumers.html","title":{"rendered":"The BRCA patents, the Supreme Court and Empowered Healthcare Consumers"},"content":{"rendered":"
SPM member Eve Harris, on her “Healthy Piece of My Mind” blog, has a\u00a0potent post on yesterday’s Supreme Court decision about the BRCA1 and
\nBRCA2 patents held by a private company. The patents have restricted\u00a0patients’ and families’ access to screening tests.<\/p>\n
Excerpt:<\/p>\n
Although at least 90 percent of the time breast cancer is sporadic,\u00a0these two mutations alone are believed to cause most hereditary breast\u00a0cancer. In families suspected of having or already identified as\u00a0having a mutation, women can choose to take a blood test that reveals\u00a0significant information about their individual risk. The patents,\u00a0however, have effectively given Myriad a monopoly in the U.S. on\u00a0breast and ovarian cancer screening tests since 1994.<\/p>\n
A lawsuit filed in 2009 claimed the patents violated patent law,\u00a0restricting scientific research and patients’ access to medical care.\u00a0One barrier for patients has been the cost of the test: …<\/p><\/blockquote>\n