GTG boss welcomes 'healthy debate'

Comments by genomics pioneer Francis Collins that Australian company Genetic Technologies' patents over non-coding DNA were of "questionable appropriateness" have spurred not so much a rebuttal, but more of a philosophical argument from the company's CEO.

Mervyn Jacobson said Collins' argument, delivered at the XIX Congress of Genetics in Melbourne -- that genetic data should be open access for the academic research community -- was "a little strange".

"But that is what science is all about. Healthy debate and disagreeing with each other is how we come up with new ideas," said Jacobson.

"Research today is big business. The idea that all scientists are doing research as a gift to mankind is hypocritical. In the US in 2001, universities received over US$825 million in royalties taken on the basis of 7715 licences and 3179 patents.

"Not only that, the same universities formed 402 spin-off companies to commercialise research. I find it incredible that if academia pursues commercial outcomes such as these -- as it obviously does -- it should be able to do it by treading on other inventors who go unrecognised," he argued.

Jacobson said his company was not looking to impede research, but it was nonetheless not right for others to breach established patents.

"[Collins] has his view and we have ours -- but the societal implications are that we are all hoping to help people and save the planet," he asserted.

Collins told Australiaan Biotechnology News he was concerned about the aggressive steps GTG had taken in extracting licensing fees from academic investigators, saying it flew in the face of "usual practice". He said that in his opinion, GTG's patents were too broad, but admitted that little could be done until they were challenged in court.

-- Additional reporting by Melissa Trudinger