South African patent law is derived from, and therefore quite
similar to, British patent law. The recent judgment of the UK
Supreme Court about the patenting of transgenic mice is therefore
worth discussing. Not least because it reminds us just why it is we
have a patent system.
The judgment is Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc v Kymab
Ltd. This case involved patents for a new type of genetically
modified mouse. The innovation here was a hybrid version of the
gene that produces antibodies, combining a section of the
mouse's genetic material (the 'constant region') with a
section of genetic material from a human (the 'variable
region'). The resulting mouse can produce antibodies which are
suitable for medical treatment in humans, but are sufficiently
similar to mouse antibodies that they do not cause immunological
reactions in the mouse.
