GTG to enforce rights to BRCA patents

Mervyn Jacobson, executive chairman of biotech firm Genetic Technologies (ASX:GTG, Nasdaq:GENE), says his company is poised to launch an extensive international search for license partners for its far-reaching non-coding DNA patents.

Joe Sambrook tells Susan Williamson about the opportunities and challenges in understanding, treating and, ultimately, preventing breast cancer.

One of the keynote speakers at the 2003 Lorne Cancer conference was breast cancer researcher Mary-Claire King. She tells Bio-IT World's Kevin Davies about a remarkable life in research.

A report by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) following an 18-month inquiry into genetic patents has concluded that significant patent law reforms are needed to accommodate cutting-edge genetic technology.

On the eve of its landmark patent-infringement case against US gene-testing company Applera Corp, Melbourne-based Genetic Technologies (ASX:GTG) has been hit with a New Zealand challenge to its right to charge licence fees for access to its non-coding DNA patents.

The US$200,000 Peter Gruber Prize in Genetics for 2004 has been awarded to Mary-Claire King, the University of Washington geneticist who paved the way for the identification of the BRCA1 hereditary breast and ovarian cancer gene in 1994.

A keen fascination in the creative ideas of others and a willingness to take risks are hallmarks of Australian biotechnology entrepreneur Dr Mervyn Jacobson's outlook on life.

The European Patent Office's decision to revoke a key patent on a breast cancer test owned by Utah-based Myriad Genetics will not prevent Myriad's Australian licensee, Genetic Technologies Ltd (ASX: GTG) providing the test in Australia and Asia.

Melbourne company Genetic Technologies (ASX:GTG) has added another large US company to its tally, with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings -- otherwise known as LabCorp -- becoming the latest to license the company's non-coding DNA mapping and analysis patents.