Harvard Mouse Patent Denied in Canada - Biotech Industry Hard Hit

Biotech industry seeks legislation to permit patenting of life

Canadian Press
http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030415.gtbioapr15/GTStory

Posted 04/19/2003

OTTAWA — Canada’s biotech industry says its prospects have been hard hit by
the Supreme Court decision against patenting the Harvard mouse.

Industry spokesmen said Monday the ruling has had a chilling effect on
foreign investment and called on Ottawa to introduce legislation to permit
patenting higher life forms.

But ethicists and environmentalists said the court had it right when it
refused to approve a patent on the genetically altered mouse intended for
use in cancer research.

The Dec. 5 decision, which stunned many in the biotech industry, makes
Canada the only major industrial country that prohibits patenting life
forms.

“This decision has sent an extremely negative signal to the global biotech
and financial communities,” said Bertrand Bolduc of TGN Biotech in Quebec
City at a debate sponsored by the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada.

He said his company has had difficulty raising funds abroad because
investors are puzzled by the ruling.

Patent lawyer David Morrow said there’s no reason for Canada to have a more
limited definition of what is patentable than its trading partners and
competitors.

Mr. Morrow said the court’s ruling was not based on environmental or policy
considerations, but on the fact that genetic engineering was not forseen
when the Patent Act was written.

He called for the act to be revised to ensure the patentability of plants,
non-human animals and micro-organisms.

Michelle Swenarchuk, a lawyer with the Canadian Environmental Law
Association, disputed the claim by industry that patents stimulate
innovation, saying they sometimes have the opposite effect.

She said the provinces are worried about financial pressure on the health
system due to the growing number of patented genetic tests. She cited the
case of Myriad Genetics, a U.S. firm which has patented two genes implicated
in breast cancer and claims a monopoly on all tests based on those genes.

The Ontario government is refusing to recognize the Myriad claim and is
using cheaper alternatives. Ms. Swenarchuk said other provinces are lining
up with Ontario on the issue.

Eric Beresford, a consultant to the Canadian Council of Churches, said life
is not a human invention and therefore should not be patentable.

“There is huge pressure at the moment from the industry on government to
basically reverse the decision of the Supreme Court legislatively,” said Mr.
Beresford.

John Baker, president of the intellectual property institute, said.