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The ethics of patenting autism genes

Nature Reviews Genetics volume 19, pages 247–248 (2018)Cite this article

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A recent patent granted for methods for diagnosing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) raises several ethical concerns beyond the fundamental question of whether genomic sequences are patentable, as it suggests that genetic testing can provide a diagnosis of ASD even before behavioural symptoms present.

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References

  1. Margulies, D. M. & Bear, M. F. Methods for diagnosing autism spectrum disorders. US Patent 9834819 (2014).

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank I. De Baere and J. Cockbain for their help in researching the patent.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

    Kristien Hens

  2. Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, KU Leuven,

    Kristien Hens & Ilse Noens

  3. Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven,

    Kristien Hens, Ilse Noens, Hilde Peeters & Jean Steyaert

  4. Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven,

    Hilde Peeters

  5. Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Jean Steyaert

Authors
  1. Kristien Hens
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  2. Ilse Noens
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  3. Hilde Peeters
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  4. Jean Steyaert
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kristien Hens.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Hens, K., Noens, I., Peeters, H. et al. The ethics of patenting autism genes. Nat Rev Genet 19, 247–248 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg.2018.17

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