Australian Senate panel does not ban gene patenting; new bill may prohibit practice
This article was originally published in RAJ Devices
Executive Summary
The Australian Senate committee that is looking into the impact of gene patents on healthcare and medical research has stopped short of recommending an express prohibition on the patenting of genes1,2. It has instead suggested numerous reforms to improve the quality of patents and the operation of the patent system in general, to ensure that a patent is granted only where an invention is "sufficiently novel, inventive and useful".