Caulfield Timothy
Health Law Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Community Genet. 2005;8(4):223-7. doi: 10.1159/000087959.
Several recent gene patent controversies have energized and refocused the human gene patent debate in Canada. These include the use of the Myriad test for breast cancer by the provinces, patenting of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus and a recent Supreme Court decision rejecting the patenting of 'higher life forms'. These cases place the emerging policy conflicts between the innovation and commercialization agenda of the government and the desire to provide equitable access to health care in sharp focus. Another challenge faced by Canada is the powerful influence of the United States in policy decisions. Although these issues have raised awareness about the possibility of reforming the patent system, Parliament has yet to consider any of the suggested reforms of the Canadian patent system and there are no formal proposals pending.
近期的几起基因专利争议激发了加拿大关于人类基因专利辩论，并使其焦点重新聚焦。这些争议包括各省对用于乳腺癌检测的Myriad检测方法的使用、严重急性呼吸综合征病毒的专利申请以及最高法院最近一项驳回“高等生命形式”专利申请的裁决。这些案例将政府创新与商业化议程和提供公平医疗保健服务的愿望之间新出现的政策冲突凸显出来。加拿大面临的另一个挑战是美国在政策决策方面的强大影响力。尽管这些问题提高了人们对改革专利制度可能性的认识，但议会尚未考虑对加拿大专利制度提出的任何改革建议，目前也没有待决的正式提案。
