Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court ruled that genes cannot be patented. This may not stop competing NIPS labs from trying to enjoin their competitors. But, the ruling reveals a point that gets lost in the celebration of genomics. Continue Reading
Search Results for: selling information
September 17, 2013
Why is “being ahead of the curve” a selling point for Verinata’s verifi?
Thursday, Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening (NIPS) laboratory Verinata is hosting a webinar open to the public about its brand of testing, verifi. Verinata's choice in marketing taglines raises serious ethical concerns. Continue Reading
January 13, 2015
cell free DNA is NOT Diagnostic
While this point has been made in multiple professional statements and news reports--including here--the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) felt it worth reminding the world that cell free DNA is NOT diagnostic. Continue Reading
November 6, 2014
NIPT: finger licking good
Illumina has decided to "franchise" its verifi non-invasive prenatal screening test. Will the franchised tests be just as good? Continue Reading
November 20, 2013
Sequenom’s testing is not patentable: uses conventional techniques, not innovative
At the end of October, Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District federal court of California ruled that Sequenom's patent for its non-invasive testing was not patentable. Here's the surprising reasons why: Continue Reading
October 17, 2013
What have we learned about the new Down syndrome prenatal test?
In 2011, a new prenatal test for Down syndrome entered the market offering earlier, safer, and more accurate results. What have we learned about this new technology since then? Continue Reading
August 23, 2013
“Unfortunately, I have some bad news for you” about Down syndrome prenatal testing
As a companion piece to the HuffPostLive segment on Down syndrome prenatal testing (which I blogged about here), the Huffington Posts' Katherine Bindley reported on the concerns about adequate counseling. Let's look at some key quotes from that piece. Continue Reading
August 25, 2016
Abortion: hard to talk about when no one will say the word
The American College of Medical Genetics & Genomics (ACMG) issued an updated statement on how cell free DNA screening should be done. It's not clear, though, why cfDNA screening should be done. Continue Reading
February 11, 2016
How Down syndrome prenatal screening’s administration is about elimination … & what’s needed to change that
In her column in Forbes, Kavin Senapathy, a self-styled scientific mythbuster, took on claims that prenatal genetic testing has as its purpose eliminating those with Down syndrome. Unfortunately, her column retold myths and she based her mythbusting on fantasy. Continue Reading
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