What is OncoMouse used for?
What is OncoMouse used for?
The Oncomouse, engineered for the express purpose of developing tumors, was announced in a 1984 paper by Harvard researchers Philip Leder and Timothy Stewart and Paul Pattengale at the University of Southern California.
Why is OncoMouse important?
On April 12, 1988, OncoMouse became the first animal to be patented in the United States (U.S. Patent 4,736,866). OncoMice are genetically modified to have an active cancer gene, making them very likely to develop cancer. Scientists hoped this trait would make the mice useful test subjects for cancer research.
What are the issues raised by patenting of OncoMouse?
But it also raised two key issues for the patent system: should patents be granted at all for animals or animal varieties, particularly for higher-order animals such as mammals, even if they do otherwise meet patentablility criteria (novelty, industrial applicability/usefulness, inventive step etc.)?
What type of patent is the Harvard mouse?
transgenic non-
The application, titled “transgenic non-human mammals,” was awarded US Patent No. 4,736,866 on April 12, 1988. This is the first patent on an animal, and is a true milestone in biotechnology patenting. The mouse, which has been licensed to Du Pont, is sold as a model for breast cancer research.
How is OncoMouse transgenic?
The OncoMouse or Harvard mouse is a type of laboratory mouse (Mus musculus) that has been genetically modified using modifications designed by Philip Leder and Timothy A Stewart of Harvard University to carry a specific gene called an activated oncogene (v-Ha-ras under the control of the mouse mammary tumor virus …
Are there patents on animals?
Since the 1980 case of Diamond v. Chakrabarty, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a living microorganism is patentable, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has determined that plants and nonhuman animals can be patented.
How is oncomouse transgenic?
How has OncoMouse been genetically modified?
Who made OncoMouse?
In the mid-1980s, scientists at Harvard in partnership with DuPont designed the OncoMouse specifically engineered to develop cancer (Stewart, Pattengale, & Leder, 1984).
How is the oncomouse mouse used in science?
OncoMouse is what scientists call a “ mouse model ”—special strain of mice used to study a particular human disease or condition. Mouse models are the foremost research tool for studying human disease and human health.
Why was the invention of OncoMouse so important?
More broadly, the patenting of OncoMouse was a first step in shifting academic research away from a culture of open and free (or very inexpensive) shared resources towards a commercial culture of expensive proprietary purchase and licensing requirements. This shift was felt far beyond the mouse genetics community.
When did the patent on the oncomouse mouse expire?
In 2005, the OncoMouse patent expired. DuPont tried to extend the patent, but the courts ruled against them. New technologies had made the OncoMouse obsolete anyway, so it didn’t matter. But the way the scientific community conducted research changed forever.