School of Law, University of Exeter, Rennes Drive, Exeter, United Kingdom.
Genet Med. 2011 Apr;13(4):320-4. doi: 10.1097/GIM.0b013e3181fc50bc.
This article reports the results of an empirical study examining the impact of human gene patents on the development and delivery of genetic tests in the public sector in the United Kingdom.
Semi-structured qualitative interviews.
The study found that, despite the potential for gene patents to have significant negative consequences for genetic testing, in fact, human gene patents have little or no impact on practice for those developing genetic tests in the public sector in the United Kingdom. This is not because patents are managed optimally; rather, gene patents are essentially ignored. This article reports the factors that motivate this behavior.
At least insofar as there seems to be no apparent problem of lack of patient access, there is no significant public health problem. However, there is divergence between the legal and the practical situation. Complacency about the lack of impact of patents on access to diagnostics is risky, and concerns about patents should be addressed proactively, rather than reactively.
本文报告了一项实证研究的结果，该研究考察了人类基因专利对英国公共部门基因检测开发和提供的影响。
半结构化定性访谈。
研究发现，尽管基因专利可能对基因检测产生重大负面影响，但实际上，对于在英国公共部门开发基因检测的人员而言，人类基因专利对其实践几乎没有影响。这并不是因为专利管理得很理想；相反，基因专利基本上被忽视了。本文报告了促使这种行为的因素。
至少在似乎不存在明显的患者准入缺乏问题的情况下，就不存在重大的公共卫生问题。然而，法律和实际情况之间存在分歧。对专利对诊断获取的影响缺乏关注的自满态度是有风险的，应该积极主动地处理对专利的担忧，而不是被动应对。
