Oh, so this is what it looks like when somebody patents a piece of the human genome (emphasis added):
Abstract:
The present invention provides compositions and methods of using the EPHB2 gene or its related signaling pathways to detect, prognosticate, assess the risk of, prevent, or treat cancers. Cancers amenable to the present invention include, but are not limited to, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and neuroblastoma. In one aspect, the present invention provides compositions which comprise an agent capable of eradicating or alleviating an abnormality in the EPHB2 gene or its related signaling pathways. This abnormality may cause or contribute to the development or progression of cancers. In another aspect, the present invention provides methods comprising detecting an abnormality in the EPHB2 gene or its related signaling pathways. The presence or absence of such an abnormality is indicative of the risk or disease status of cancer in a person of interest.
Claims:
1. A method of selecting a pharmaceutical composition capable of correcting the phenotype resulting from a change in expression or function caused by a 3055A→T mutation in a polynucleotide comprising an EPHB2 gene (SEQ ID NO.: 2 or 4) comprising:culturing a cell comprising a 3055A→T mutation in a polynucleotide comprising an EPHB2 gene (SEQ ID NO.: 2 or 4)contacting a candidate pharmaceutical composition with the cellevaluating the capability of the candidate pharmaceutical composition to correct the result.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the candidate pharmaceutical composition comprises a chemical compound.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the candidate pharmaceutical composition comprises an RNAi.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the candidate pharmaceutical composition comprises an antibody Fv region.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the phenotype comprises a change in the expression of a gene other than the EPHB2 gene (SEQ ID NO.: 2 or 4)
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the change in the expression of a gene other than EPHB2 is measured by the detection of a change in mRNA expression.
7. The method of claim 5 wherein the change in the expression of a gene other than EPHB2 is measured by the detection of a change in protein expression.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the phenotype comprises abnormal cell growth.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the candidate pharmaceutical composition is capable of conditionally suppressing the abnormal cell growth.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the cell is derived from a prostate cancer.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein the cell is derived from an African-American man.
12. The method of claim 43 wherein the culturing occurs within an animal.I couldn't find any "claim 43" in the available documentation.
Basically this looks like a catch-all patent request so that they can have an exclusive market for developing medical products based off of anything they can demonstrate to be directly related to problems with the EPHB2 gene.
It is disturbing that they are including an explicitly racial component in a patent about testing for cancer. I doubt its for anything as fucked up as back when the US government would let Black men die of syphilis for lulz. Probably the researchers involved noted that Black Americans suffer at greater rates from diseases such as cancers and are hedging their bets that it is related to something genetic rather than environmental factors related to cyclical poverty.
That's the extent of my ability to comprehend the science involved, and is probably well past my ability to decode the legalese... if I'm mistaken please correct me!
