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I feel sure that the European Union would not have agreed to grant companies exclusive rights to research use of genetic materials, had the public been adequately consulted.
Individuals are wholly unaware that, when they undergo surgery, their removed tissue can become patentable and profitable property for researchers and biotechnology companies.
Cancer cell lines have long been developed without their "contributors" being consulted or having the chance to benefit.
With the intense new scientific interest in genetic material, no one can predict just how outrageous the unauthorized uses of patients' body substances might become.
Although I have not seen the text of the decision on which the BMJ article was based, it would seem that the EU has stooped to endorsing the greed of corporations who would prey on an unsuspecting public. There has to be a better way, and the better way is based on honesty and disclosure.
Competing interests:
No competing interests
22 May 1998
Ceil Sinnex
Editor & Publisher
Ovarian Plus International: Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Quarterly
European Union Breaches the Public Trust
Sirs:
I feel sure that the European Union would not have agreed to grant companies exclusive rights to research use of genetic materials, had the public been adequately consulted.
Individuals are wholly unaware that, when they undergo surgery, their removed tissue can become patentable and profitable property for researchers and biotechnology companies.
Cancer cell lines have long been developed without their "contributors" being consulted or having the chance to benefit.
With the intense new scientific interest in genetic material, no one can predict just how outrageous the unauthorized uses of patients' body substances might become.
Although I have not seen the text of the decision on which the BMJ article was based, it would seem that the EU has stooped to endorsing the greed of corporations who would prey on an unsuspecting public. There has to be a better way, and the better way is based on honesty and disclosure.
Competing interests: No competing interests