Tania Simoncelli: Should you be able to patent a human gene?
Tania Simoncelli: Como desafié a la industria de patentes de genes… y gané
Tania Simoncelli advises the White House on science and technology policy. Full bio
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as the organization's science advisor.
asesora científica de la organización.
just a little bit discouraged.
un poquito desalentada.
to my colleague Chris Hansen's office.
de mi colega Chris Hansen.
for more than 30 years,
por más de 30 años,
knowledge and insights.
y perspectiva institucional.
that I was feeling a little bit stuck.
me sentía un poco bloqueada.
a number of issues
and civil liberties -- super interesting.
libertades civiles; súper interesantes,
these issues in a much bigger way,
asuntos de una forma más grande,
make a difference.
marcar la diferencia.
to the chase, and he says,
al grano, y dijo:
looking at, what are the top five?"
visto, ¿cuáles son los mejores cinco?"
for lie detection, and ...
la detección de mentiras, y...
las patentes de genes".
de genes humanos".
que el gobierno de EE.UU.
on part of the human body?
de partes del cuerpo humano?
and sent Chris three articles.
y le envié a Chris tres artículos.
he came bursting in my office.
entró como loco en mi oficina.
¿A quién podemos demandar?"
about patent law
sobre la ley de patentes
but I wasn't even a lawyer,
pero ni siquiera era abogada,
before we could file a lawsuit.
antes de poder iniciar una demanda.
exactly what was patented
exactamente qué se patentaba
dozens of claims,
tienen docenas de peticiones,
are to so-called "isolated DNA" --
son las llamadas "ADN aislado"
that has been removed from a cell.
que fue removido de una célula.
the gene in your body,
of the gene requires that it be isolated.
uso del gen requiere que esté aislado.
to a particular gene that they isolated,
de un gen particular aislado,
version of that gene.
versión posible de ese gen.
your gene to your doctor
alguna mutación,
de la patente.
has the right to stop anyone
tiene el derecho de detener a cualquiera
in research or clinical testing.
o pruebas clínicas.
was harming patients.
estaba perjudicando a los pacientes.
if left untreated,
que si se deja sin tratar
genes associated with this condition
de dos genes asociados con esa enfermedad
para diagnosticar el síndrome.
and they never offered it.
y nunca lo ofrecieron.
threatened to sue the lab
las patentes amenazó con demandarlos
and were harming patients.
un problema que dañaba a los pacientes.
we could challenge them?
en la que desafiarlos?
through a long line of cases,
a través de muchos casos,
are not patent eligible.
no se pueden patentar.
de la naturaleza...
elements of the periodic table.
los elementos de la tabla periódica.
las leyes naturales...
and must remain free to all
y deben ser libres para todos
of all of our proteins,
de todas nuestras proteínas,
and a law of nature,
y una ley natural,
to speak with many different experts --
y hablar con muchos expertos,
lawyers, patent lawyers.
abogados, abogados de patentes.
as a matter of policy,
teníamos razón respecto de la política,
as a matter of law.
respecto de la ley.
a gene-patent challenge
un desafío como este
had been issuing these patents
las ha estado ofreciendo
of patents on human genes.
de patentes sobre genes humanos.
entrenched in the status quo,
arraigada en el status quo.
around this practice,
había desarrollado con esta práctica,
had been introduced
patentes genéticas habían entrado
to overturn these patents.
a anular estas patentes.
to shy away from a challenge,
de los que no se animan al cambio,
just isn't enough,"
correcto no es suficiente",
to take on this fight.
más válida para luchar.
Company A sues Company B
compañía A demanda a compañía B
obscure technical issue.
muy específico e intrincado.
in that kind of case,
ese tipo de casos,
was much bigger than that.
sería mucho mayor que eso.
medical progress,
el progreso médico,
to develop a case
desarrollaríamos un caso
your typical patent case --
como el típico caso de patentes,
a gene-patent holder
un titular de patente de genes
sus patentes vigorosamente
of plaintiffs and experts
de demandantes y expertos
were harming patients and innovation.
a los pacientes y a la innovación.
to sue in Myriad Genetics,
para demandar: Myriad Genetics,
in Salt Lake City, Utah.
en Salt Lake City, Utah.
along these genes
en estos genes
at a significantly increased risk
de un riesgo muy alto
in the United States.
exámenes de BRCA en EE.UU.
that were offering BRCA testing to stop.
que los ofrecían, dejaran de hacerlo.
scientific community.
científica internacional.
to include additional mutations
para incluir mutaciones adicionales
by a team of researchers in France.
un equipo de investigadores franceses.
that during that period,
undergoing testing
que llevaban a cabo este examen
that should have been positive.
debía haber sido positivo.
developed breast cancer at age 40
desarrolló cáncer de mama a los 40
most likely didn't run in the family,
ese tipo de cáncer en la familia,
didn't need to be tested.
no necesitaban hacerse el examen.
with advanced-stage ovarian cancer.
un cáncer de ovario avanzado.
was among the 12 percent
estaba en ese 12 %
resultado falso negativo.
el resultado correcto,
could have been prevented.
se habría prevenido.
of plaintiffs and experts
de demandantes y expertos
muy comprometidos:
highly committed plaintiffs:
cartas para cesar y desistir,
cease and desist letters,
that collectively represented
que representaban en conjunto
and medical professionals,
y profesionales médicos,
couldn't afford Myriad's test,
o no podían pagar el examen de Myriad,
a second opinion but could not,
segunda opinión pero no podían,
we had in preparing the case
que tuvimos al preparar el caso
to communicate the science.
explicar la ciencia.
was not an invention,
lo que Myriad hizo no fue un invento,
were products of nature,
son productos de la naturaleza,
of basic concepts, like:
un par de conceptos básicos, como:
and why isn't that an invention?
y por qué eso no es un invento?
with our plaintiffs and experts,
con nuestros demandantes y expertos,
of explaining these concepts
de explicar estos conceptos
on the use of metaphors,
en el uso de metáforas,
the process for mining the gold,
para extraer el oro,
of hard work and effort
trabajo arduo y esfuerzo
it's still gold.
es oro.
for all sorts of things
toda clase de cosas
for when it was in the mountain;
si aún estuviera en la montaña;
out of it for example --
it's still gold.
sigue siendo oro.
and we're ready to file our case.
listos para presentar el caso.
in the Southern District of New York,
del distrito sur de Nueva York,
to Judge Robert Sweet.
al juez Robert Sweet.
issued his opinion --
mostró su opinión,
he described the science in the case.
que había descrito la ciencia en el caso.
it was pretty good,
estaba bastante bien,
understanding of this issue
tan profundo sobre el tema
how this had happened.
working for him at the time,
trabajaba para él en ese momento,
for the Federal Circuit.
del Circuito Federal.
submitted a brief on Myriad's side.
entregó un informe apoyando a Myriad.
to its own patent office,
a su propia oficina de patentes,
that states that is has
declarando que había
in light of the district court's opinion,
de la opinión del tribunal de distrito,
is not patent eligible.
no se puede patentar.
for the Federal Circuit
del Circuito Federal
very, very pro-patent.
muy, muy pro-patentes.
acontecimiento notable,
en nuestra contra,
biological theory --
biológica nueva,
a new chemical --
creado un nuevo químico;
so it came out of the blue.
así que salió de la nada.
that isolated DNA is a product of nature.
el ADN aislado es un producto natural.
to shake up the biotech industry."
la industria biotecnológica".
by the Supreme Court.
de la Corte Suprema.
that you want the Court to answer.
que quiere que la Corte responda.
of a super-long paragraph,
son párrafos súper largos,
with lots and lots of clauses,
con muchísimas cláusulas,
y "por lo cual la otra".
the shortest question presented ever.
más corta de la historia.
what I thought of these words,
qué pensaba de esas palabras,
'Is isolated DNA patentable?'"
¿Se puede patentar el ADN aislado?"
the very same reaction that I had
la misma reacción que tuve yo
to me seven years ago."
hace siete años".
argue with that.
discutirle nada.
about one percent
and it was really, really exciting --
y fue muy, muy apasionante...
since 2:30 in the morning
desde las 2:30 de la madrugada
on the courthouse steps.
ahí en los escalones.
entrara a argumentar
as I walked into the courtroom
se fue al entrar en la Corte
at a sea of friendly faces:
a un mar de caras sonrientes:
deeply personal stories,
historias tan personales,
of time out of their busy careers
gran parte de su tiempo
briefs in the case.
amicus curiae para el caso.
of the Human Genome Project,
del Proyecto Genoma Humano,
of DNA himself,
del propio ADN,
un informe a la Corte,
to gene patenting as "lunacy."
de genes como "una locura".
represented in this room
representadas en esa sala
to make this day a reality
cada uno hizo realidad este día
lo que estaba en riesgo.
the Supreme Court justices grapple
los jueces del tribunal tratar
and feisty exchanges,
coloridas y diálogos enérgicos,
as our legal team had done
nuestro equipo legal había hecho
from the Amazon.
medicinal del Amazonas.
from carving a baseball bat from a tree.
hacer un bate de béisbol de un árbol.
favorite moments,
to be "just nature sitting there."
aislado era "la naturaleza ahí sentada".
leaving the courtroom that day,
al salir del tribunal aquel día,
anticipated the outcome:
anticipado el resultado:
is a product of nature,
es un producto de la naturaleza,
it has been isolated.
solo por haber sido aislado.
for the BRCA genes.
para los genes BRCA.
at a lower price than Myriad's.
más barato que Myriad.
a more comprehensive test
exámenes más completos
goes far beyond Myriad.
fue más allá que Myriad.
of allowing patents on human genes
de dar patentes sobre genes humanos
to biomedical discovery and innovation.
descubrimiento biomédico y la innovación.
like Abigail, Kathleen and Eileen
como Abigail, Kathleen y Eileen
que necesitan.
issued its decision,
la Corte diera su respuesta,
Chris and I went to visit
a las que Chris y yo visitamos
si empezar este caso.
whether to bring this case.
un pequeño animal de peluche.
a small stuffed animal.
al empezar este caso.
to take that risk
para tomar ese riesgo
the right thing.
haciendo lo correcto.
from the start to finish,
de principio a fin,
en el camino.
that we bridged,
que juntamos,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tania Simoncelli - Policy expertTania Simoncelli advises the White House on science and technology policy.
Why you should listen
Tania Simoncelli is Assistant Director for Forensic Science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). She came to OSTP from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where she served as Senior Advisor in the Office of Medical Products and Tobacco, providing guidance and leadership on complex initiatives that required coordination across the centers for drugs, biologics, medical devices and tobacco products. Prior to this role, she served for two years as Special Assistant to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, where she advised the Commissioner and her staff on a wide range of issues, including nutrition labeling, food safety, genetically modified foods, scientific integrity, drug safety communication, direct-to-consumer genetic testing and personalized medicine.
From 2003-2010, Simoncelli worked as the Science Advisor to the American Civil Liberties Union, where she guided the organization’s responses to cutting-edge developments in science and technology that pose challenges for civil liberties. In this capacity, she spearheaded the development of ACLU’s successful Supreme Court challenge to the patenting of human genes and advised ACLU leadership and staff on a number of other science policy issues. In 2013, Simoncelli was named by the journal Nature as one of “ten people who mattered this year” for her work with the ACLU in overturning gene patents.
Simoncelli is co-author with Sheldon Krimsky of Genetic Justice: DNA Data Banks, Criminal Investigations, and Civil Liberties (Columbia University Press: 2010). She has published articles in a range of scientific, legal and policy journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (JLME) and Genewatch Magazine.
Simoncelli holds a BA in Biology & Society from Cornell University and an MS in Energy and Resources from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked as a researcher, analyst, and consultant for a range of nonprofit environmental and social justice organizations, including the Environmental Defense Fund and the Center for Genetics and Society, and served for five years as a board member of the Council for Responsible Genetics.
Tania Simoncelli | Speaker | TED.com