The Genetic Age: Who Owns the Genome?

Abstract

"But for tonight's debate, I think its more appropriate to recall that the sequencing of the human genome was announced just over two years ago. So I ask you to think not how far we've come in 50 years, but how far we've come in just those two years. The public policy changes in modern genetics are formidable, made even more so by the speed with which life sciences are advancing. A combination of public and private resources are now driving progress and we now have tools to enable whole genome analysis, yet we should all realize our knowledge of the human genome is still vastly outweighed by what we do not know. Nowhere are these challenges greater than in the field of intellectual property. Policy makers face the daunting task of constructing, interpreting and administering a framework of laws and regulations that must strike a balance between the private sectors need to reward innovation and the public's right to reap the benefits and advances in genomics to improve the quality of our lives."