VICTORIA (CP) - The B.C. Cancer Agency wants to make sure scientists and drug companies worldwide have free access to new genetic information that could help develop a cure for the deadly SARS virus.
The agency said Monday it has filed a provisional application for a U.S. patent for what could be the genetic code for the SARS virus to ensure the information remains public and is not hoarded by someone seeking to profit from it. The Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre of the B.C. Cancer Agency made medical history last month when it announced it had sequenced the coronavirus fingered as the leading suspected cause of the deadly lung infection known as severe acute respiratory syndrome.
"We have made a defensive filing of a provisional patent application that we intend will protect accessibility to this scientific information rather than a monopoly approach by possibly other organizations, corporations or individuals that could preclude access to scientists across the world including ourselves," said Dr. Susan O'Reilly, a cancer agency spokeswoman.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control posted on the Internet a genetic blueprint of the virus thought to cause SARS days after the Canadian discovery.
A firm in Hong Kong is seeking the patent to the entire SARS virus.
A Canadian patent lawyer said it could take at least a year before any legal decision is made on who has the rights to the SARS virus.
The cancer agency's goal is to keep any one group from limiting access to the SARS genetic information, said Dr. Samuel Abraham, agency director of technology development.
"The reason for doing this was basically to enable all and sundry to get access to the various clones and material generated from this effort," he said.
Abraham said the cancer agency has received numerous requests for the SARS information since the discovery.
Dr. Marco Marra, credited with cracking the genetic code, said he supports the patent application, but only because it keeps the door to further research open.
"I believe that the agency is acting in the best interests of the public in protecting access to the sequence information."
Marra said he personally requested that his name not be included on the patent application as the scientist who found the genetic sequence.
"This stems largely from a personal belief that DNA sequence is a discovery as opposed to an invention and should not be patentable," he said.
Marra and Abraham said the discovery could end up being a financial windfall.
Abraham said the initial plan is to ensure 50 per cent of any money goes to the research facility and the remaining 50 per cent to the scientists.
"The royalties, were there to be any at some later date, would come back to basically foster further research here," he said. "That would be a goal of any office of our type."
Alan Bernstein, president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, said it would not be unreasonable if the discoverers sought to make a profit.
"Patenting per se is not a bad thing," he said. "One proper reason for patenting is to make sure it's freely available to everybody."
Anie Perault, vice president of Genome Canada, which provided funding to set up the B.C. Cancer Agency genetic lab, said there is no blanket policy for which findings can be patented.
"Overall we think researchers should protect their intellectual property," she said. "We do favour commercialization but we don't have a position on how far it should go."
Genome Canada contributed about $6 million to the genetic equipment at the agency, she said.
Scientists from both Vancouver and Atlanta said having the genetic code of the virus will help those battling SARS on a number of levels.
