News

Human gene patents won’t go ahead

The science of human genetics has moved forward at its usual breakneck pace over the past few months, accompanied by the customary controversies.

In March there were reports of genes for breast and colon cancer, and in April for a ‘multiple tumour suppressor gene’. But the best news was the withdrawal by the US National Institutes of Health and the UK Medical Research Council of their patent applications for thousands of human gene fragments. These patent applications had outraged scientists and critics alike and threatened to destroy international collaboration on the Human Genome Project.

The issue of commercial control over the human genome is far from dead, however. In France a major row broke out over plans to allow a US biotechnology company exclusive access to a DNA bank developed at one of the world’s leading genetics research centres. Meanwhile, in the US the first patent on techniques for genetically engineering human beings caused uproar.

In the UK, the House of Commons approved Dame Jill Knight’s amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, which would ban the use of aborted fetuses as a source of Eggs for in-vitro fertilisation. The amendment was supported by health secretary Virginia Bottomley and, if passed by the Lords, will pre-empt consultation by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the regulatory authority for new reproductive technologies.

Ethical issues raised by genetic screening, including the possibility for discrimination in insurance, was the subject of an important report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. The report recommended a moratorium on the use of genetic tests in insurance, a move rejected by the Association of British Insurers as ‘naive’.

These and other issues in the fast-changing world of genetics are reported in GenEthics News, a new and independent newsletter covering the ethical and environmental issues raised by genetic engineering.

GenEthics News is offering a free launch issue and free guide to the genetic engineering debate to subscribers before 1 July 1994.

Details from: GenEthics News, FREEPOST ( LON 6016), PO Box 6313, London N16 0BR.