664
covering BRCA1 and BRCA2; mutations in these genes are linked to an increased
risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Both sides quickly claimed victory. According to
the plaintiffs, the Court’s decision would help society “feel more of the impact of the
genomics revolution”, whereas the Biotechnology Industry Organization claimed
that the decision left intact patents on the synthetic transcripts, “the commercially
most important form of DNA used in biotechnology” (Sherkow and Greely 2013 ).
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21 Ethical Aspects of Personalized Medicine