GENE PATENTING

Early day motion 298, tabled 19 January 2000 by Joan Ruddock (Labour). Signed by 41 members.

That this House expresses its dismay that the US company Myriad Genetics has applied in the United Kingdom and other European countries for patents on the breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2; is concerned that the potential for the enforcement of very broad claims on human genes such as these could negatively affect genetic testing and limit the progress of medical research; accepts that biotechnology companies should be able to recoup the costs of genetic research but believes that the government must be capable of intervening in the public interest to avoid patient suffering and safeguard biomedical research; and calls on the Government to clarify the United Kingdom position on patenting human genes and to ensure that the focus of genetic research is not transferred from the laboratory to the courtroom.

Signatures by party: Labour 31, Liberal Democrat 6, Labour/Co-operative 4.