中国基因专利的数据挖掘

对中国专利基因数据库（NASDAP, http://nasdap.generank.org/）进行了统计和数据挖掘,展示了中国基因专利的全貌;揭示了我国基因专利申请的热点和薄弱面;通过对专利基因生命周期聚类结果的分析,总结出围绕一个专利基因进行二次创新的策略以及我国对此类申请的授权态度。这些数据挖掘结果可为我国药物开发和疾病诊断等生命科学高技术领域知识产权战略制定提供重要参考。     

Cry基因家族的专利分布研究

从苏云金芽孢杆菌(Bacillus thuringiensis)提取的Cry基因,是目前国内外开发应用最为广泛的抗虫基因,具有巨大的潜在经济价值。自上世纪80年代以来,美欧日等发达国家加速利用知识产权在Cry基因技术领域布阵设防,建立了严密的知识产权攻防体系,掌控着相关产业发展的主动权。通过检索搜集全球范围内的Cry基因专利信息,分析研究了Cry基因家族的专利分布状况,借此对我国在制定技术研发和产业化策略时,有效规避知识产权陷阱提供决策依据。     

加强对基因专利的研究

基因专利是生物技术产业知识产权保护的最主要形式,被认为是生物技术产业发展的金钥匙。谁握有基因专利,谁就将占有生物技术产业发展的空间、占有未来的财富。近几年,随着人类基因组、基因功能研究的迅速进展,极大地激发了投资者的想象空间和对获取基因专利的高涨热情。前几年曾出现了以跑马圈地的方式申报基因专利的高潮,我国也曾有过一次申请上百条基因专利的例子。目前,在美国已授权了2万余个基因或基因相关分子的专利.     

抗草甘膦EPSPS基因的专利保护分析

抗草甘膦转基因作物是目前全球播种面积最大的转基因作物,抗草甘膦基因（EPSPS）的克隆、表达及其功能验证等也因此成为现代分子生物育种研究的重点,利用专利等知识产权保护措施将这些功能基因和转化技术转变成自己的独占产权是发达国家和生物技术公司普遍采取的发展策略。通过检索搜集全球范围内EPSPS基因的专利和转化品系信息,分析研究了EPSPS基因在全球的专利保护、核心技术专利分布与产业化运用状况。结果表明,近几年对EPSPS的专利申请量迅速增加,专利申请人主要集中在美国、法国、中国等国家,但是核心技术和产业化应用的绝大部分专利由孟山都、拜耳、先锋、先正达等跨国公司拥有,相关产业的发展主动权也由此被其掌控。     

基于专利分析的肿瘤基因PCR诊断技术研究

肿瘤目前成为人类健康和生命的重要危胁,肿瘤基因诊断是对肿瘤的各种原癌基因、抑癌基因进行检测,聚合酶链反应(polymerase chain reaction,PCR)技术是目前临床基因诊断应用最广泛的诊断技术,具有普及率高、特异性好、简便快捷等特点。肿瘤基因PCR诊断技术可以用于已知基因突变的检测,快速了解突变状态,有效制定治疗方案,为肿瘤患者带来福音。本研究主要基于专利数据,对肿瘤基因PCR诊断技术进行分析,探讨了全球与中国在肿瘤基因PCR诊断技术领域的发展现状与趋势。在Innography数据库共检索到PCR技术相关专利16,939件,专利家族6,285件。在肿瘤基因PCR诊断技术领域中,荧光定量PCR技术占比较大,约占肿瘤基因PCR诊断技术总量的三分之一。从技术技术生命周期来看,肿瘤基因PCR诊断技术目前仍处在高速发展阶段。美国是肿瘤基因PCR诊断技术的发展领先国家。该技术的主要来源国为美国,全球42.09%的专利来自美国,同时美国也是同族专利的主要分布地区。在肿瘤基因PCR诊断技术领域,排名前15位的顶尖机构中,来自美国的机构有7所。中国在肿瘤基因PCR诊断技术领域起步较晚,但发展迅速,在该技术领域申请的专利数量仅次于美国。中国申请的肿瘤基因PCR诊断技术的专利绝大多数都只在中国进行专利保护,并没有布局全球市场的意愿。     

白(既鱼)豚MHC基因类DQB1座位第二外元的序列变异分析

测定了45个克隆的白(既鱼)豚(Lipotes vexillifer)MHC Ⅱ类基因DQB座位第二外元172 bp的核苷酸序列,共获得15种序列,发现了22个变异位点.核苷酸的非同义替换明显多于同义替换,并造成了15个氨基酸的改变.氨基酸的替换趋于集中在假定的与抗原的选择性识别相关的位点附近.白(既鱼)豚DQB基因的核苷酸和氨基酸序列与文献报道的白鲸(Delphinapterus leucas)和一角鲸(Monodon monoceros)DQB1序列具有较高的同源性.氨基酸序列不具备人及其它一些灵长类动物DQB2基因所共有的基序(Motif),而与牛DQB1基因的基序相近,说明本研究得到的白(既鱼)豚MHC序列应属于类DQB1基因.同一个体出现了多种序列的情况,提示白(既鱼)豚的DQB基因可能存在着座位重复.白(既鱼)豚的类DQB1座位的序列中存在多种基序的不同组合,推测是由于基因转换造成的[动物学报 49(4):501～507,2003].     

关于基因工程的专刊

美国斯坦福大学在Cohen等人1974年关于基因重组的研究报告发表之后不久,向美国专利商标局申请了专利。1980年12月,斯坦福大学被批准取得了美国第一号有关基因重组的专利。这是一项基本专利、以Cohen等的工作为主要内容,实际上包括了目前所知的全部基因重组技术。     

白鱀豚MHC基因类DQB1座位第二外元的序列变异分析

测定了 4 5个克隆的白豚 (Lipotesvexillifer)MHCⅡ类基因DQB座位第二外元 172bp的核苷酸序列 ,共获得 15种序列 ,发现了 2 2个变异位点。核苷酸的非同义替换明显多于同义替换 ,并造成了 15个氨基酸的改变。氨基酸的替换趋于集中在假定的与抗原的选择性识别相关的位点附近。白豚DQB基因的核苷酸和氨基酸序列与文献报道的白鲸 (Delphinapterusleucas)和一角鲸 (Monodonmonoceros)DQB1序列具有较高的同源性。氨基酸序列不具备人及其它一些灵长类动物DQB2基因所共有的基序 (Motif) ,而与牛DQB1基因的基序相近 ,说明本研究得到的白豚MHC序列应属于类DQB1基因。同一个体出现了多种序列的情况 ,提示白豚的DQB基因可能存在着座位重复。白豚的类DQB1座位的序列中存在多种基序的不同组合 ,推测是由于基因转换造成的.     

从Myriad案谈基因专利的正当性及美国对基因专利授权实质性要件分析

按照专利制度构建的本质,基因专利的作用在于激励产业创新,促进基因研究的发展。但基因专利从产生以来就一直存在着争议。2011年美国Myriad案对分离DNA序列的可专利性具有不同的观点,从Myriad I案认为分离的DNA是不可专利的客体,到Myriad II上诉案中联邦巡回上诉法院推翻地方法院的观点,认为分离的DNA具有不同的化学结构,满足专利客体的适格性,但同时也反射出了对DNA序列可专利性的怀疑。Myriad案引起了美国、欧洲和澳大利亚司法审判中就基因专利适格性问题的较大争议。本文结合美国Myriad案来分析DNA序列作为专利客体的适格性以及目前美国对基因专利授权的实质性条件。     

水稻bZIP蛋白REB结合Wx基因启动子中的GCN4基序

在水稻Wx基因启动子中找到了一个由胚乳基序(EM)和GCN4基序组成的双元胚乳盒. 许多文献报道,种子贮存蛋白基因启动子中的胚乳盒与基因的种子专一性表达有关,一类bZIP家族的转录因子通过结合胚乳盒中的GCN4基序而调控相应基因在种子中专一性表达.本文证明了水稻Wx基因启动子的胚乳盒中的GCN4基序能被水稻未成熟种子中的核蛋白识别并结合.进一步采用PCR的方法克隆了水稻bZIP家族的转录因子——REB的部分cDNA,并在E.coli中表达了REB融合蛋白.凝胶滞后试验结果表明,除文献报道,REB能结合α-globulin启动子上的靶位点外,REB也能识别并结合水稻Wx基因启动子的GCN4基序.     

Functional annotation and analysis of Korean patented biological sequences using bioinformatics

A recent report of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) showed that the number of biological sequence-based patents is rapidly increasing in Korea. We present biological features of Korean patented sequences though bioinformatic analysis. The analysis is divided into two steps. The first is an annotation step in which the patented sequences were annotated with the Reference Sequence (RefSeq) database. The second is an association step in which the patented sequences were linked to genes, diseases, pathway, and biological functions. We used Entrez Gene, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and Gene Ontology (GO) databases. Through the association analysis, we found that nearly 2.6% of human genes were associated with Korean patenting, compared to 20% of human genes in the U.S. patent. The association between the biological functions and the patented sequences indicated that genes whose products act as hormones on defense responses in the extra-cellular environments were the most highly targeted for patenting. The analysis data are available at http://www.patome.net.     

Gene patents: socially acceptable monopolies or an unnecessary hindrance to research?

Why should patents be granted on genes? This question is a provocative and troubling issue currently facing society. Looking at the commercial realities of gene patents, I conclude that on balance their effect is to retard, rather than to stimulate, both scientific and economic progress. The monopolies awarded by patents on genes as novel chemicals are not therefore in the public interest. Society would benefit from immediate change in the policy of patent offices to limit the allowance of patents on genes to specified uses with only narrow claims.     

Are Patents Impeding Medical Care and Innovation?

Background to the debate: Pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers argue that the current patent system is crucial for stimulating research and development (R&D), leading to new products that improve medical care. The financial return on their investments that is afforded by patent protection, they claim, is an incentive toward innovation and reinvestment into further R&D. But this view has been challenged in recent years. Many commentators argue that patents are stifling biomedical research, for example by preventing researchers from accessing patented materials or methods they need for their studies. Patents have also been blamed for impeding medical care by raising prices of essential medicines, such as antiretroviral drugs, in poor countries. This debate examines whether and how patents are impeding health care and innovation.     

Strategic mining of cyanobacterial patents from the USPTO patent database and analysis of their scope and implications

Patent analysis with the help of the strategic mining of patents from databases is important and useful within the framework of application-oriented research and its commercialization. In the analysis reported here, we have mined cyanobacterial patents from the patent database of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In order to make an assessment of the commercial potentials of cyanobacteria, we conducted the patent search (from 1976 to April 2006) using certain generic terms and the 84 genera of cyanobacteria as keywords. The search was performed in two major ways – searching the abstracts and claims of the patents cumulatively and searching the entire patent documents by the mode of ‘all fields’ in USPTO. In the abstract- and claims-based search, 234 patents were obtained after the removal of overlapping patents among the keywords. An additional 31 patents were added following the ‘all fields’ search; these patents were not covered in the search that was based on abstracts and claims. The entire package of 265 patents, of which 244 were related to cyanobacteria, was then analyzed. Information derived from these patents identified five major areas of cyanobacterial utilization. Cyanobacteria have been patented as a source of a wide spectrum of products, for medical, agriculture and environmental applications, for gene-based products, for methods of cultivation and for methods of control. The chronological development in granting cyanobacterial patents was also traced. This study demonstrates that such strategic mining and analysis of patent data can be used as an index for future development.     

Invisible genomes: the genomics revolution and patenting practice

In the mid-1990s, the company Human Genome Sciences submitted three potentially revolutionary patent applications to the US Patent and Trademark Office, each of which claimed the entire genome sequence of a microorganism. The patent examiners, however, objected to these applications, and after negotiation they were eventually re-written to resemble more traditional gene patents. In this paper, which is based on a study of the patent examination files, we examine the reasons why these patent applications were unsuccessful in their original form. We show that with respect to utility and novelty, the patent attorney's case built on an understanding of the genome as a computer-related invention. The patent examiners did not object to the patenting of complete genome sequences as computer-related inventions on moral grounds or in terms of the distinction between a discovery and an invention. Instead, their objections were based on classification, rules and procedure. Rather than patent examiners having a notion of a genome that should not be patented, the notion of a 'genome', and the ways in which it may be different from a 'gene', played no role in these debates. We discuss the consequences of our findings for patenting in the biosciences.     

Models for facilitating access to patents on genetic inventions

The genetics community is increasingly concerned that patents might lead to restricted access to research and health care. We explore various measures that are designed to render patented genetic inventions accessible to further use in research, and to diagnosis and/or treatment. They include the often-recited research or experimental-use exemption, conventional one-to-one licensing and compulsory licensing, as well as patent pools and clearing-house mechanisms. The last two alternatives deserve special attention in the area of human genetics.     

Patenting genome research tools and the law

Patenting genes encoding therapeutic proteins was relatively uncontroversial in the early days of biotechnology. Controversy arose in the era of high-throughput DNA sequencing, when gene patents started to look less like patents on drugs and more like patents on scientific information. Evolving scientific and business strategies for exploiting genomic information raised concerns that patents might slow subsequent research. The trend towards stricter enforcement of the utility and disclosure requirements by the patent offices should help clarify the current confusion.     

Law-medicine interfacing: patenting of human genes and mutations

Mutations, Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), deletions and genetic rearrangements in specific genes in the human genome account for not only our physical characteristics and behavior, but can lead to many in-born and acquired diseases. Such changes in the genome can also predispose people to cancers, as well as significantly affect the metabolism and efficacy of many drugs, resulting in some cases in acute toxicity to the drug. The testing of the presence of such genetic mutations and rearrangements is of great practical and commercial value, leading many of these genes and their mutations/deletions and genetic rearrangements to be patented. A recent decision by a judge in the Federal District Court in the Southern District of New York, has created major uncertainties, based on the revocation of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene patents, in the eligibility of all human and presumably other gene patents. This article argues that while patents on BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes could be challenged based on a lack of utility, the patenting of the mutations and genetic rearrangements is of great importance to further development and commercialization of genetic tests that can save human lives and prevent suffering, and should be allowed.     

Metastasizing patent claims on BRCA1

Many patents make claims on DNA sequences; some include claims on oligonucleotides related to the primary patented gene. We used bioinformatics to quantify the reach of one such claim from patent 4,747,282 on BRCA1. We find that human chromosome 1 (which does not contain BRCA1) contains over 300,000 oligonucleotides covered by this claim, and that 80% of cDNA and mRNA sequences contributed to GenBank before the patent application was filed also contain at least one claimed oligonucleotide. Any “isolated” DNA molecules that include such 15 bp nucleotide sequences would fall under the claim as granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Anyone making, using, selling, or importing such a molecule for any purpose within the United States would thus be infringing the claim. This claim and others like it turn out, on examination, to be surprisingly broad, and if enforced would have substantial implications for medical practice and scientific research.