One patent a day keeps the doctor away? Patenting human genetic information and health care

Abstract:

Two years after the approval of the EU Directive 98/44 on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions, emotion is still playing a central role in the debate surrounding the patentability of biotechnological inventions.

This is not the least due to the rather active and nearly aggressive campaigns from pressure groups. Europe has proven to be immature to deal with this type of issues. The disadvantage of the type of debate as pursued in Europe is that the attention is drawn away from some crucial points which deserve closer examination.

A core issue in this connection is the future of biotechnology and its role in health care. Can biotechnology be of any assistance in our never-ending search for remedies against deadly and/or disabling diseases? Or is biotechnology the demon which tries to destroy life on earth, which has as its only companion financial profit? This article attempts to focus on a number of these issues, with a view to clarify the matter.