[IP Hot Topics Podcast] Innovation Conversations: Dr. Claire Fraser
Clinton: SCOTUS Myriad Genetics Decision 'Terrific'
Goldstein: Expect More Litigation in Wake of Myriad Gene Patent Decision
Are Human Genes Patentable? Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Myriad Case
Can You Patent Human Genes? ACLU Says No
Yours, Mine and Ours (not yet!): An Update on the Patentability of Human Genes -
Yours, Mine and Ours (not yet!): An Update on the Patentability of Human Genes
We previously alerted readers to the fact that the most recent data compromise of 23andMe exposed data related to Ashkenazi Jews and individuals of Chinese descent. It is reported by Ars Technica, citing TechCrunch, that...more
On December 8, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two new gene therapies for the treatment of sickle cell disease. The first, Casgevy™ (exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel)), is the first-ever approved...more
We previously reported on the unfortunate data breach suffered by 23andMe last month and its implications. We never imagined how horrible it could be....more
A recent enforcement action by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) against 1Health.io—which sells “DNA Health Test Kits” to consumers for health and ancestry insights—serves as a reminder that the FTC is increasingly...more
Gene therapy aims to treat the underlying genetic cause of a disease rather than only the symptoms. It involves the delivery of properly functioning DNA into a patient’s genetic material to correct an underlying genetic...more
The investments in Advanced Medicinal Products (ATMPs) that use gene therapy, somatic cell therapy, and engineered tissues for preventing, treating, or curing human diseases probably represent the biggest innovation in the...more
Cell and gene therapy transactions have increased dramatically over the last few years, in both number and complexity, and have given rise to a number of issues that merit further attention. In the article below, we outline a...more
The Ministry of Science and Technology of China has finally issued the draft of Implementation Rules for the Regulations of Human Genetic Resources Administration for public comments on March 21, 2022, which gives more...more
I have written about genetic testing kits before, but this subject matter is worth repeating. I find that people don’t always understand the consequences when sending a swab to a genetic testing company. Consumer Reports...more
2021 was a fascinating year in biotech, especially for legal issues. Of course, 2021, as the second year of a global pandemic, must be viewed in context with 2020....more
Editor’s Note: In a recent webinar, Manatt Health’s Anthony Fiori, Senior Managing Director, and Alex Dworkowitz, Partner, hosted a panel of innovative thought leaders—including Dr. Sanjiv Shah, Chief Medical Officer of...more
On September 30, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced final guidance titled “Interpreting Sameness of Gene Therapy Products under the Orphan Drug Regulations.” The guidance finalizes the January 2020...more
On October 6, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA). This follows Governor Newsom’s veto of an earlier version of the bill almost exactly one year ago. ...more
When it comes to SARS-CoV-2 infection (and resulting COVID-19), it seems our Neanderthal ancestors giveth and taketh away. Genetic material inherited from interbreeding between Neanderthals and early humans has been shown to...more
The Fountain of Youth -- an enduring aspiration, particularly as the ravages of age reduce human faculties prior to leading inexorably to death. Reduction in sight is the human faculty that can have the greatest effect on...more
Over the past decade, genetic archeology has revealed two branches of the human family tree, one known since the 19th Century (the Neanderthals) and the other more recently discovered (the Denisovans, an Asian relative of the...more
Svante Pääbo created the science of detecting Neanderthal DNA in archeological samples (and living humans) almost single-handedly (see Neanderthal Man: In Search of Lost Genomes). So it will come as little surprise to many...more
Perception by the five human senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch) varies significantly between individuals and populations. Some use these differences to their advantage, such as sommeliers capable of detecting...more
On September 25, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the California Genetic Information Privacy Act (“GIPA”), about which we reported. Governor Newsom expressed his support for protecting the privacy of individuals’ genetic...more
California’s “Genetic Information Privacy Act” (SB 980), vetoed on September 25, 2020 by Governor Gavin Newsom, would have established obligations for direct-to-consumer (“DTC”) genetic testing companies and others that...more
The prospect of genetic engineering using CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) and CRISPR-associated nucleases (Cas) has long been hailed as a “revolutionary” development in medicine....more
The human tendency to identify with tribes of "like" humans (related by family, place of origin, or religion, among other bases) was perverted during the Twentieth Century (and in some places remains so today) into the idea...more
Last week, Veritas Genetics, a consumer-facing DNA testing company, suffered a security breach affecting customer information in its database. Veritas offers whole-genome sequencing to consumers for $599. The security...more
More than a year ago, in April 2018, police announced that they had used a new investigative technique to arrest a man known as the Golden State Killer. For the first time, the police submitted DNA from a crime scene into a...more
DNA technology has assisted law enforcement in identifying criminals for decades. The U.S. National DNA Database System stores the DNA data of millions of criminals, and allows law enforcement officers around the country to...more