0:00:01.424,0:00:04.582
It was an afternoon in the fall of 2005.

0:00:05.325,0:00:08.924
I was working at the ACLU[br]as the organization's science advisor.

0:00:09.388,0:00:11.995
I really, really loved my job,

0:00:12.019,0:00:13.655
but I was having one of those days

0:00:13.679,0:00:16.248
where I was feeling[br]just a little bit discouraged.

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So I wandered down the hallway[br]to my colleague Chris Hansen's office.

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Chris had been at the ACLU[br]for more than 30 years,

0:00:26.045,0:00:29.120
so he had deep institutional[br]knowledge and insights.

0:00:29.640,0:00:32.613
I explained to Chris[br]that I was feeling a little bit stuck.

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I had been investigating[br]a number of issues

0:00:35.718,0:00:41.019
at the intersection of science[br]and civil liberties -- super interesting.

0:00:41.043,0:00:44.953
But I wanted the ACLU to engage[br]these issues in a much bigger way,

0:00:44.977,0:00:47.222
in a way that could really[br]make a difference.

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So Chris cut right[br]to the chase, and he says,

0:00:51.727,0:00:55.187
"Well, of all the issues you've been[br]looking at, what are the top five?"

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"Well, there's genetic discrimination,

0:00:58.204,0:01:00.629
and reproductive technologies,

0:01:00.653,0:01:02.794
and biobanking, and ...

0:01:02.818,0:01:04.660
oh, there's this really cool issue,

0:01:04.684,0:01:07.333
functional MRI and using it[br]for lie detection, and ...

0:01:07.357,0:01:09.478
oh, and of course, there's gene patents."

0:01:09.502,0:01:11.131
"Gene patents?"

0:01:11.967,0:01:14.049
"Yes, you know, patents on human genes."

0:01:14.073,0:01:15.579
"No!

0:01:15.603,0:01:18.064
You're telling me that the US government

0:01:18.088,0:01:21.012
has been issuing patents[br]on part of the human body?

0:01:21.543,0:01:23.226
That can't be right."

0:01:23.861,0:01:27.320
I went back to my office[br]and sent Chris three articles.

0:01:27.954,0:01:31.281
And 20 minutes later,[br]he came bursting in my office.

0:01:31.305,0:01:34.921
"Oh my god! You're right! Who can we sue?"

0:01:35.330,0:01:36.839
(Laughter)

0:01:37.713,0:01:40.087
Now Chris is a really brilliant lawyer,

0:01:40.111,0:01:43.020
but he knew almost nothing[br]about patent law

0:01:43.044,0:01:45.480
and certainly nothing about genetics.

0:01:45.504,0:01:48.382
I knew something about genetics,[br]but I wasn't even a lawyer,

0:01:48.406,0:01:50.067
let alone a patent lawyer.

0:01:50.091,0:01:53.557
So clearly we had a lot to learn[br]before we could file a lawsuit.

0:01:54.036,0:01:56.894
First, we needed to understand[br]exactly what was patented

0:01:56.918,0:01:58.599
when someone patented a gene.

0:01:59.679,0:02:03.501
Gene patents typically contain[br]dozens of claims,

0:02:03.525,0:02:08.302
but the most controversial of these[br]are to so-called "isolated DNA" --

0:02:08.699,0:02:13.140
namely, a piece of DNA[br]that has been removed from a cell.

0:02:14.073,0:02:15.372
Gene patent proponents say,

0:02:15.396,0:02:18.570
"See? We didn't patent[br]the gene in your body,

0:02:18.594,0:02:20.529
we patented an isolated gene."

0:02:21.148,0:02:22.349
And that's true,

0:02:22.373,0:02:29.106
but the problem is that any use[br]of the gene requires that it be isolated.

0:02:30.510,0:02:34.915
And the patents weren't just[br]to a particular gene that they isolated,

0:02:34.939,0:02:37.826
but on every possible[br]version of that gene.

0:02:38.183,0:02:39.520
So what does that mean?

0:02:39.981,0:02:43.043
That means that you can't give[br]your gene to your doctor

0:02:43.067,0:02:45.363
and ask him or her to look at it,

0:02:45.387,0:02:47.487
say, to see if it has any mutations,

0:02:47.511,0:02:49.587
without permission of the patent holder.

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It also means that the patent holder[br]has the right to stop anyone

0:02:54.580,0:02:58.062
from using that gene[br]in research or clinical testing.

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Allowing patent holders,

0:03:00.593,0:03:01.877
often private companies,

0:03:01.901,0:03:06.387
to lock up stretches of the human genome[br]was harming patients.

0:03:06.958,0:03:08.110
Consider Abigail,

0:03:08.134,0:03:10.527
a 10-year-old with long QT syndrome,

0:03:10.551,0:03:13.975
a serious heart condition that,[br]if left untreated,

0:03:13.999,0:03:15.777
can result in sudden death.

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The company that obtained a patent on two[br]genes associated with this condition

0:03:20.857,0:03:23.339
developed a test to diagnose the syndrome.

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But then they went bankrupt[br]and they never offered it.

0:03:27.060,0:03:28.988
So another lab tried to offer the test,

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but the company that held the patents[br]threatened to sue the lab

0:03:32.024,0:03:33.206
for patent infringement.

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So as a result,

0:03:34.413,0:03:37.275
for 2 years, no test was available.

0:03:38.291,0:03:39.441
During that time,

0:03:39.465,0:03:42.715
Abigail died of undiagnosed long QT.

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Gene patents clearly were a problem[br]and were harming patients.

0:03:47.467,0:03:49.873
But was there a way[br]we could challenge them?

0:03:50.266,0:03:51.998
Turns out that the Supreme Court

0:03:52.022,0:03:55.136
has made clear[br]through a long line of cases,

0:03:55.160,0:03:57.946
that certain things[br]are not patent eligible.

0:03:58.925,0:04:01.299
You can't patent products of nature --

0:04:02.148,0:04:06.357
the air, the water, minerals,[br]elements of the periodic table.

0:04:07.170,0:04:09.282
And you can't patent laws of nature --

0:04:10.193,0:04:12.472
the law of gravity, E = mc2.

0:04:12.909,0:04:17.715
These things are just too fundamental[br]and must remain free to all

0:04:17.739,0:04:19.562
and reserved exclusively to none.

0:04:20.348,0:04:22.495
It seemed to us that DNA,

0:04:22.519,0:04:25.035
the most fundamental structure of life,

0:04:25.059,0:04:27.715
that codes for the production[br]of all of our proteins,

0:04:27.739,0:04:30.965
is both a product of nature[br]and a law of nature,

0:04:30.989,0:04:33.691
regardless of whether it's in our bodies

0:04:33.715,0:04:35.753
or sitting in the bottom of a test tube.

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As we delved into this issue,

0:04:38.002,0:04:41.910
we traveled all over the country[br]to speak with many different experts --

0:04:42.588,0:04:46.301
scientists, medical professionals,[br]lawyers, patent lawyers.

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Most of them agreed that we were right[br]as a matter of policy,

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and, at least in theory,[br]as a matter of law.

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All of them thought

0:04:55.492,0:04:58.062
our chances of winning[br]a gene-patent challenge

0:04:58.086,0:04:59.953
were about zero.

0:05:01.628,0:05:02.991
Why is that?

0:05:03.015,0:05:06.102
Well, the patent office[br]had been issuing these patents

0:05:06.126,0:05:07.827
for more than 20 years.

0:05:08.686,0:05:11.566
There were literally thousands[br]of patents on human genes.

0:05:12.843,0:05:15.784
The patent bar was deeply[br]entrenched in the status quo,

0:05:16.581,0:05:20.204
the biotech industry had grown up[br]around this practice,

0:05:20.228,0:05:23.347
and legislation to ban gene patents[br]had been introduced

0:05:23.371,0:05:24.769
year after year in Congress,

0:05:24.793,0:05:26.584
and had gone absolutely nowhere.

0:05:27.401,0:05:28.615
So the bottom line:

0:05:29.027,0:05:32.202
courts just weren't going to be willing[br]to overturn these patents.

0:05:32.916,0:05:37.511
Now, neither Chris nor I were the type[br]to shy away from a challenge,

0:05:37.535,0:05:40.679
and hearing, "Being right[br]just isn't enough,"

0:05:40.703,0:05:43.233
seemed all the more reason[br]to take on this fight.

0:05:44.311,0:05:46.246
So we set out to build our case.

0:05:47.494,0:05:50.984
Now, patent cases tend to be:[br]Company A sues Company B

0:05:51.008,0:05:54.191
over some really narrow,[br]obscure technical issue.

0:05:54.822,0:05:57.187
We weren't really interested[br]in that kind of case,

0:05:57.211,0:05:59.600
and we thought this case[br]was much bigger than that.

0:05:59.624,0:06:02.112
This was about scientific freedom,[br]medical progress,

0:06:02.136,0:06:03.595
the rights of patients.

0:06:03.619,0:06:06.722
So we decided we were going[br]to develop a case

0:06:06.746,0:06:09.264
that was not like[br]your typical patent case --

0:06:09.645,0:06:11.527
more like a civil rights case.

0:06:12.756,0:06:15.598
We set out to identify[br]a gene-patent holder

0:06:15.622,0:06:18.407
that was vigorously enforcing its patents

0:06:18.431,0:06:21.725
and then to organize a broad coalition[br]of plaintiffs and experts

0:06:21.749,0:06:23.639
that could tell the court

0:06:23.663,0:06:28.052
about all the ways that these patents[br]were harming patients and innovation.

0:06:29.404,0:06:32.526
We found the prime candidate[br]to sue in Myriad Genetics,

0:06:32.550,0:06:35.405
a company that's based[br]in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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Myriad held patents on two genes,

0:06:38.992,0:06:42.313
the BRCA1 and the BRCA2 genes.

0:06:43.150,0:06:45.884
Women with certain mutations[br]along these genes

0:06:45.908,0:06:48.534
are considered to be[br]at a significantly increased risk

0:06:48.558,0:06:50.503
of developing breast and ovarian cancer.

0:06:51.834,0:06:53.714
Myriad had used its patents to maintain

0:06:53.738,0:06:57.947
a complete monopoly on BRCA testing[br]in the United States.

0:06:58.544,0:07:02.732
It had forced multiple labs[br]that were offering BRCA testing to stop.

0:07:02.756,0:07:04.915
It charged a lot of money for its test --

0:07:04.939,0:07:06.622
over 3,000 dollars.

0:07:07.089,0:07:09.424
It had stopped sharing its clinical data

0:07:09.448,0:07:11.735
with the international[br]scientific community.

0:07:12.522,0:07:14.425
And perhaps worst of all,

0:07:14.449,0:07:16.885
for a period of several years,

0:07:16.909,0:07:20.622
Myriad refused to update its test[br]to include additional mutations

0:07:20.646,0:07:24.267
that had been identified[br]by a team of researchers in France.

0:07:24.974,0:07:27.482
It has been estimated[br]that during that period,

0:07:27.506,0:07:28.879
for several years,

0:07:28.903,0:07:32.655
as many as 12 percent of women[br]undergoing testing

0:07:32.679,0:07:35.081
received the wrong answer --

0:07:36.377,0:07:40.146
a negative test result[br]that should have been positive.

0:07:41.485,0:07:43.226
This is Kathleen Maxian.

0:07:44.172,0:07:47.429
Kathleen's sister Eileen[br]developed breast cancer at age 40

0:07:47.453,0:07:49.293
and she was tested by Myriad.

0:07:50.032,0:07:51.758
The test was negative.

0:07:51.782,0:07:53.308
The family was relieved.

0:07:53.332,0:07:57.120
That meant that Eileen's cancer[br]most likely didn't run in the family,

0:07:57.144,0:08:00.159
and that other members of her family[br]didn't need to be tested.

0:08:00.843,0:08:02.073
But two years later,

0:08:02.097,0:08:06.157
Kathleen was diagnosed[br]with advanced-stage ovarian cancer.

0:08:06.927,0:08:10.799
It turned out that Kathleen's sister[br]was among the 12 percent

0:08:10.823,0:08:13.692
who received a false-negative test result.

0:08:14.347,0:08:17.436
Had Eileen received the proper result,

0:08:17.460,0:08:19.833
Kathleen would have then been tested,

0:08:19.857,0:08:22.770
and her ovarian cancer[br]could have been prevented.

0:08:24.818,0:08:26.082
Once we settled on Myriad,

0:08:26.106,0:08:29.991
we then had to form a coalition[br]of plaintiffs and experts

0:08:30.015,0:08:32.103
that could illuminate these problems.

0:08:32.127,0:08:34.699
We ended up with 20[br]highly committed plaintiffs:

0:08:35.325,0:08:36.863
genetic counselors,

0:08:36.887,0:08:40.246
geneticists who had received[br]cease and desist letters,

0:08:40.905,0:08:42.754
advocacy organizations,

0:08:43.532,0:08:46.597
four major scientific organizations[br]that collectively represented

0:08:46.621,0:08:50.151
more than 150,000 scientists[br]and medical professionals,

0:08:50.755,0:08:54.052
and individual women who either[br]couldn't afford Myriad's test,

0:08:54.076,0:08:57.080
or who wanted to obtain[br]a second opinion but could not,

0:08:57.104,0:08:58.848
as a result of the patents.

0:09:00.315,0:09:03.755
One of the major challenges[br]we had in preparing the case

0:09:03.779,0:09:06.645
was figuring out how best[br]to communicate the science.

0:09:07.079,0:09:10.910
So in order to argue that what Myriad did[br]was not an invention,

0:09:10.934,0:09:14.211
and that isolated BRCA genes[br]were products of nature,

0:09:15.124,0:09:17.837
we had to explain a couple[br]of basic concepts, like:

0:09:17.861,0:09:20.005
What's a gene? What's DNA?

0:09:20.029,0:09:23.745
How is DNA isolated,[br]and why isn't that an invention?

0:09:25.168,0:09:29.030
We spent hours and hours[br]with our plaintiffs and experts,

0:09:29.054,0:09:31.990
trying to come up with ways[br]of explaining these concepts

0:09:32.014,0:09:33.557
simply yet accurately.

0:09:34.306,0:09:37.638
And we ended up relying heavily[br]on the use of metaphors,

0:09:37.662,0:09:38.818
like gold.

0:09:39.789,0:09:42.073
So isolating DNA --

0:09:42.097,0:09:44.597
it's like extracting gold from a mountain

0:09:45.105,0:09:47.121
or taking it out of a stream bed.

0:09:47.145,0:09:50.819
You might be able to patent[br]the process for mining the gold,

0:09:50.843,0:09:52.924
but you can't patent the gold itself.

0:09:53.929,0:09:56.672
It might've taken a lot[br]of hard work and effort

0:09:56.696,0:09:58.556
to dig the gold out of the mountain;

0:09:59.127,0:10:01.408
you still can't patent it,[br]it's still gold.

0:10:01.432,0:10:03.188
And the gold, once it's extracted,

0:10:03.212,0:10:05.300
can clearly be used[br]for all sorts of things

0:10:05.324,0:10:08.060
that it couldn't be used[br]for when it was in the mountain;

0:10:08.084,0:10:10.266
you can make jewelry[br]out of it for example --

0:10:10.290,0:10:12.455
still can't patent the gold,[br]it's still gold.

0:10:13.364,0:10:17.218
So now it's 2009,[br]and we're ready to file our case.

0:10:18.286,0:10:21.781
We filed in federal court[br]in the Southern District of New York,

0:10:22.355,0:10:25.721
and the case was randomly assigned[br]to Judge Robert Sweet.

0:10:26.599,0:10:29.799
In March 2010, Judge Sweet[br]issued his opinion --

0:10:30.569,0:10:32.427
152 pages --

0:10:32.834,0:10:35.086
and a complete victory for our side.

0:10:35.964,0:10:37.395
In reading the opinion,

0:10:37.419,0:10:42.134
we could not get over how eloquently[br]he described the science in the case.

0:10:42.504,0:10:45.275
I mean, our brief --[br]it was pretty good,

0:10:45.299,0:10:46.866
but not this good.

0:10:47.778,0:10:51.155
How did he develop such a deep[br]understanding of this issue

0:10:51.179,0:10:52.339
in such a short time?

0:10:52.363,0:10:55.971
We just could not comprehend[br]how this had happened.

0:10:55.995,0:10:57.259
So it turned out,

0:10:57.283,0:11:00.593
Judge Sweet's clerk[br]working for him at the time,

0:11:00.617,0:11:02.097
was not just a lawyer --

0:11:02.121,0:11:03.835
he was a scientist.

0:11:03.859,0:11:05.457
He was not just a scientist --

0:11:05.481,0:11:08.627
he had a PhD in molecular biology.

0:11:08.651,0:11:10.402
(Laughter)

0:11:10.426,0:11:13.001
What an incredible stroke of luck!

0:11:14.058,0:11:15.358
Myriad then appealed

0:11:15.382,0:11:17.877
to the US Court of Appeals[br]for the Federal Circuit.

0:11:18.496,0:11:20.512
And here things got really interesting.

0:11:21.465,0:11:24.525
First, in a pivotal moment of this case,

0:11:25.187,0:11:27.818
the US government switched sides.

0:11:28.739,0:11:32.488
So in the district court the government[br]submitted a brief on Myriad's side.

0:11:32.512,0:11:37.640
But now in direct opposition[br]to its own patent office,

0:11:37.664,0:11:40.372
the US government files a brief[br]that states that is has

0:11:40.396,0:11:44.084
reconsidered this issue[br]in light of the district court's opinion,

0:11:44.108,0:11:47.294
and has concluded that isolated DNA[br]is not patent eligible.

0:11:47.818,0:11:49.629
This was a really big deal,

0:11:49.653,0:11:51.215
totally unexpected.

0:11:52.773,0:11:54.853
The Court of Appeals[br]for the Federal Circuit

0:11:54.877,0:11:56.560
hears all patent cases,

0:11:56.584,0:11:59.742
and it has a reputation for being[br]very, very pro-patent.

0:12:00.305,0:12:02.731
So even with this remarkable development,

0:12:02.755,0:12:04.434
we expected to lose.

0:12:04.458,0:12:05.805
And we did.

0:12:06.389,0:12:07.541
Sort of.

0:12:08.357,0:12:10.944
Ends up split decision, 2 to 1.

0:12:11.743,0:12:14.239
But the two judges who ruled against us,

0:12:14.263,0:12:16.504
did so for completely different reasons.

0:12:17.275,0:12:19.101
The first one, Judge Lourie,

0:12:19.125,0:12:22.140
made up his own novel,[br]biological theory --

0:12:22.164,0:12:23.332
totally wrong.

0:12:23.356,0:12:24.367
(Laughter)

0:12:24.391,0:12:26.609
He decided Myriad had created[br]a new chemical --

0:12:26.633,0:12:28.498
made absolutely no sense.

0:12:28.522,0:12:31.308
Myriad didn't even argue this,[br]so it came out of the blue.

0:12:31.632,0:12:33.609
The other, Judge Moore,

0:12:33.633,0:12:37.511
said she basically agreed with us[br]that isolated DNA is a product of nature.

0:12:37.987,0:12:41.320
But she's like, "I don't want[br]to shake up the biotech industry."

0:12:42.248,0:12:44.820
The third, Judge Bryson,

0:12:45.233,0:12:46.449
agreed with us.

0:12:47.750,0:12:50.281
So now we sought review[br]by the Supreme Court.

0:12:50.305,0:12:53.008
And when you petition the Supreme Court,

0:12:53.032,0:12:56.154
you have to present a question[br]that you want the Court to answer.

0:12:56.534,0:13:00.261
Usually these questions take the form[br]of a super-long paragraph,

0:13:00.285,0:13:03.308
like a whole page long[br]with lots and lots of clauses,

0:13:03.332,0:13:05.789
"wherein this" and "therefore that."

0:13:06.294,0:13:10.201
We submitted perhaps[br]the shortest question presented ever.

0:13:11.312,0:13:12.525
Four words:

0:13:14.220,0:13:16.271
Are human genes patentable?

0:13:16.922,0:13:19.746
Now when Chris first asked me[br]what I thought of these words,

0:13:19.770,0:13:21.144
I said, "Well, I don't know.

0:13:21.168,0:13:24.335
I think you have to say,[br]'Is isolated DNA patentable?'"

0:13:24.968,0:13:26.137
"Nope.

0:13:26.487,0:13:31.108
I want the justices to have[br]the very same reaction that I had

0:13:31.132,0:13:34.219
when you brought this issue[br]to me seven years ago."

0:13:34.896,0:13:37.053
Well, I certainly couldn't[br]argue with that.

0:13:37.981,0:13:40.864
The Supreme Court only hears[br]about one percent

0:13:40.888,0:13:42.554
of the cases that it receives,

0:13:42.578,0:13:44.169
and it agreed to hear ours.

0:13:45.772,0:13:49.899
The day of the oral argument arrives,[br]and it was really, really exciting --

0:13:49.923,0:13:51.358
long line of people outside,

0:13:51.382,0:13:54.146
people had been standing in line[br]since 2:30 in the morning

0:13:54.170,0:13:55.904
to try to get into the courthouse.

0:13:55.928,0:13:57.899
Two breast cancer organizations,

0:13:57.923,0:13:59.591
Breast Cancer Action and FORCE,

0:13:59.615,0:14:02.316
had organized a demonstration[br]on the courthouse steps.

0:14:03.232,0:14:06.102
Chris and I sat quietly in the hallway,

0:14:06.776,0:14:09.790
moments before he was to walk in and argue

0:14:09.814,0:14:12.130
the most important case of his career.

0:14:12.765,0:14:15.144
I was clearly more nervous than he was.

0:14:16.096,0:14:20.856
But any remaining panic subsided[br]as I walked into the courtroom

0:14:20.880,0:14:23.693
and looked around[br]at a sea of friendly faces:

0:14:24.059,0:14:25.824
our individual women clients

0:14:25.848,0:14:28.289
who had shared their[br]deeply personal stories,

0:14:29.210,0:14:32.836
the geneticists who had taken huge chunks[br]of time out of their busy careers

0:14:32.860,0:14:34.685
to dedicate themselves to this fight

0:14:35.122,0:14:37.701
and representatives from a diverse array

0:14:37.725,0:14:39.612
of medical, patient advocacy,

0:14:39.636,0:14:41.712
environmental and religious organizations,

0:14:41.736,0:14:45.268
who had submitted friend of the court[br]briefs in the case.

0:14:46.609,0:14:49.634
Also in the room were three leaders[br]of the Human Genome Project,

0:14:49.658,0:14:52.330
including the co-discoverer[br]of DNA himself,

0:14:52.354,0:14:53.644
James Watson,

0:14:53.668,0:14:55.814
who had submitted a brief to the court,

0:14:55.838,0:14:59.349
where he referred[br]to gene patenting as "lunacy."

0:14:59.373,0:15:01.221
(Laughter)

0:15:01.245,0:15:04.882
The diversity of the communities[br]represented in this room

0:15:04.906,0:15:08.347
and the contributions each had made[br]to make this day a reality

0:15:08.371,0:15:10.668
spoke volumes to what was at stake.

0:15:11.386,0:15:13.599
The argument itself was riveting.

0:15:14.205,0:15:15.868
Chris argued brilliantly.

0:15:15.892,0:15:17.137
But for me,

0:15:17.161,0:15:20.925
the most thrilling aspect was watching[br]the Supreme Court justices grapple

0:15:20.949,0:15:22.518
with isolated DNA,

0:15:22.542,0:15:25.768
through a series of colorful analogies[br]and feisty exchanges,

0:15:25.792,0:15:29.132
very much the same way[br]as our legal team had done

0:15:29.156,0:15:30.846
for the past seven years.

0:15:31.666,0:15:34.322
Justice Kagan likened isolating DNA

0:15:34.346,0:15:37.122
to extracting a medicinal plant[br]from the Amazon.

0:15:38.516,0:15:42.526
Justice Roberts distinguished it[br]from carving a baseball bat from a tree.

0:15:43.995,0:15:46.477
And in one of my absolutely[br]favorite moments,

0:15:46.501,0:15:51.770
Justice Sotomayor proclaimed isolated DNA[br]to be "just nature sitting there."

0:15:51.794,0:15:52.894
(Laughter)

0:15:53.318,0:15:56.193
We felt pretty confident[br]leaving the courtroom that day,

0:15:56.217,0:15:59.223
but I could never have[br]anticipated the outcome:

0:16:00.574,0:16:02.081
nine to zero.

0:16:03.025,0:16:06.747
"A naturally occurring DNA segment[br]is a product of nature,

0:16:06.771,0:16:09.818
and not patent-eligible merely because[br]it has been isolated.

0:16:10.394,0:16:11.741
And furthermore,

0:16:11.765,0:16:14.310
Myriad did not create anything."

0:16:16.160,0:16:18.156
Within 24 hours of the decision,

0:16:18.180,0:16:19.572
five labs had announced

0:16:19.596,0:16:22.610
that they would begin to offer testing[br]for the BRCA genes.

0:16:23.149,0:16:26.632
Some of them promised to offer the tests[br]at a lower price than Myriad's.

0:16:27.142,0:16:30.062
Some promised to provide[br]a more comprehensive test

0:16:30.086,0:16:31.769
than the one Myriad was offering.

0:16:32.490,0:16:35.328
But of course the decision[br]goes far beyond Myriad.

0:16:35.352,0:16:39.748
It ends a 25-year practice[br]of allowing patents on human genes

0:16:39.772,0:16:40.979
in the United States.

0:16:41.383,0:16:46.076
It clears a significant barrier[br]to biomedical discovery and innovation.

0:16:46.484,0:16:51.385
And it helps to ensure that patients[br]like Abigail, Kathleen and Eileen

0:16:51.409,0:16:53.565
have access to the tests that they need.

0:16:54.991,0:16:58.206
A few weeks after the court[br]issued its decision,

0:16:58.230,0:17:00.490
I received a small package in the mail.

0:17:01.246,0:17:02.853
It was from Bob Cook-Deegan,

0:17:02.877,0:17:05.146
a professor at Duke University

0:17:05.170,0:17:08.394
and one the very first people[br]Chris and I went to visit

0:17:08.418,0:17:11.117
when we started to consider[br]whether to bring this case.

0:17:12.033,0:17:14.842
I opened it up to find[br]a small stuffed animal.

0:17:16.344,0:17:19.303
(Laughter)

0:17:21.568,0:17:23.896
We took a big risk in taking this case.

0:17:24.722,0:17:27.232
Part of what gave us the courage[br]to take that risk

0:17:27.256,0:17:29.694
was knowing that we were doing[br]the right thing.

0:17:30.079,0:17:33.809
The process took nearly eight years[br]from the start to finish,

0:17:33.833,0:17:36.054
with many twists and turns along the way.

0:17:36.578,0:17:38.269
A little luck certainly helped,

0:17:38.888,0:17:41.700
but it was the communities[br]that we bridged,

0:17:41.724,0:17:43.815
the alliances that we created,

0:17:43.839,0:17:45.259
that made pigs fly.

0:17:45.802,0:17:46.958
Thank you.

0:17:46.982,0:17:52.496
(Applause)