Excerpt from 'Identity and Invention: The Culture and Ethics of Personalized Medicine Patenting'

Abstract

Personalized medicine has received attention from scholars and policy makers. This book contributes to the literature by focusing on the issues raised by patenting and commercialization in the field of personalized medicine. This excerpt, from a forthcoming book, presents the policy background and discussions of four case studies related to personalized medicine patenting: the Myriad breast cancer gene controversy, the Nitromed patent on a method for treating hypertension in black patients, the personalized medicine project by the Marshfield Clinic, and the pending controversy between Prometheus Labs and the Mayo Clinic before the United States Supreme Court.

Keywords: Patents, Intellectual Property, Biotechnology, Personalized Medicine, Medical Ethics, Race and the Law

JEL Classification: K2