The Wire

A legal challenge has been launched against an Australian company over its claim of exclusive ownership of an important genetic test. The test for certain cancers is currently owned by Genetic Technologies Australia but their claim is now being disputed in the Federal court. 18,000 Australian women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and around 20 percent have a mutation in the gene BRCA 1. The company relinquished its exclusive claim in 2008 after it was criticised for seeking to ban the public system from testing for the gene. But the Federal case could be hampered because there are very few legal precedents in Australia on gene patents.