THE long arm of the law may soon reach your doctor鈥檚 office. In a case before the US Supreme Court, a drug company is fighting for a patent that could hold medical knowledge hostage.
Prometheus Laboratories in San Diego, California, holds a patent on guidelines for treating gastrointestinal diseases. It is battling the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota over claims that the clinic鈥檚 methods of treating these diseases conflict with its patent, which covers dosage adjustments that tell doctors how much medicine should be prescribed based on metabolites in the body.
Although discoveries can be patented in the US, this claim over natural body processes goes too far, according to a statement by a group of organisations including the American Medical Association in support of the Mayo Clinic. 鈥淟ong before the patentee drafted his claims, physicians treating autoimmune disorders鈥� recognized the relationship between metabolite levels and therapeutic efficacy of the drugs,鈥� they write.
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They say that patenting the 鈥渦tterly conventional steps鈥� will result in poorer patient care. 鈥淗igher priced medical care is an inevitable result,鈥� they add.
