Proposed changes to the gene patents legislation go too far, and could render successful cancer drugs and other vital medicines unavailable in Australia, the Australian Academy of Science cautioned Parliament today.
In a submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Patent Amendment (Human Genes and Biological Materials) Bill, the Academy said the proposed amendment could also prevent important medical research.
'It could stifle research and development for new diagnostic tests, therapies and vaccines, and therefore impact heavily on Australian people's access to new world-class treatments and tests,' Academy President Professor Suzanne Cory said.
'It would also prevent the patenting – and therefore the availability – of many of the new biological drugs that are already proving so successful in treating cancer and other diseases.'
Representing Australia's most senior scientists, the Academy of Science agrees that there should be a strict interpretation of the existing patent legislation. DNA sequences exist in their own right in nature, and should not be patentable.
However, it believes the proposed amendments go too far. The definition of 'biological materials' in the Bill would prevent patenting any biological entity found in nature in any form. It would cover DNA, RNA, proteins such as insulin, cells, antibodies and vaccines, and fluids from any source, including plants, fungi, bacteria or viruses.
The Australian Academy of Science has urged Parliament to ensure that Australia's patent legislation does not lag behind that of other nations.
'This amendment would leave Australia with a very different set of criteria for patentability from most other countries,' Professor Cory said.
'The patent system should remain a flexible international mechanism for promoting and rewarding scientific innovation.'
The Academy's submission is available at www.science.org.au/reports-and-submissions
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