> The University of Texas at Austin discovered and isolated a broadly neutralizing plasma antibody, called SC27, from a single patient.<p>> The researchers have filed a patent application for SC27.<p>The antibody itself is patentable? What about the patient whose body created the antibody? Does this patient have any rights to it?<p>There's something about this that I don't like. Sure, if the antibody was engineered by the researchers, I could see it being patented. But discovered and taken as-is from another patient and then patented seems like a gray area to me.
I would hope the individual that produced the antibody is well rewarded for what their body did.<p>Unless this antibody is somehow similar across all antibodies created as a reaction to an infection - that single patient should get a part of the profits from all vaccines/treatments derived from the antibody made in their body - it's only fair if their "work" is part of making vaccines that are then sold to others globally on a wide scale.<p>Then again, this is the medical industrial complex, so I'm sure they'll find a way to justify not reimbursing the patient. Unless I'm mistaken?
> <i>The technology used to isolate the antibody, termed Ig-Seq, gives researchers a closer look at the antibody response to infection and vaccination using a combination of single-cell DNA sequencing and proteomics.</i><p>/? ig-seq [ site:github.com ] : <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=ig-seq+site%3Agithub.com" rel="nofollow">https://www.google.com/search?q=ig-seq+site%3Agithub.com</a><p><a href="https://www.illumina.com/science/sequencing-method-explorer/kits-and-arrays/ig-seq-rep-seq-maf.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.illumina.com/science/sequencing-method-explorer/...</a> :<p>> <i>Rep-Seq is a collective term for repertoire sequencing technologies. DNA sequencing of immunoglobulin genes (Ig-seq) and molecular amplification fingerprinting</i><p>> <i>[ Ig-seq] is a targeted gDNA amplification method performed with primers complementary to the rearranged V-region gene (VDJ recombinant). Amplification of cDNA is then performed with the appropriate 5’ primers.</i>