Patenting of Human Genetic Material: Cancer Gene Case

Thursday 10 June 2010 @ 12.00 a.m. | IP & Media

The ABC's online site has recently reported:
"Lawyers have begun legal action against four biotechnology companies, which co-own the patent to a gene known as BRCA1, linked to an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer." Read the full article.

So will such actions work for or against the development of medical research and treatments for cancer? Should genetic material be treated as intellectual property?