When will we have the $1000 epilepsy genome?

Falling prices. The initial Human Genome Project took 10 years and cost more than $3 billion US Dollars. The $1000 genome catch phrase was first used in 2001 and indicated that prices would need to fall significantly to allow for genome sequencing to be used for routine diagnostics. Currently, in 2014, the $1000 genome seems on the horizon. However, will we ever have a $1000 epilepsy genome? Continue reading

Genes, patents and the Myriad story

When genes meet the law. Last week, the Supreme Court of the United States of America (SCOTUS) ruled that genes are not patentable, a decision that will be known as the “Myriad Decision”, named after Myriad Genetics, a commercial laboratory that is the single provider for BRCA1/2 testing in breast cancer and ovarian cancer in the United States. For more than a decade, Myriad has had virtually exclusive rights to the genetic analysis of both genes, given a large number of patents surrounding BRCA1/2 analysis. Continue reading