News Release
ETC Group
7 June 2007
www.etcgroup.org

Patenting Pandora's Bug

Goodbye, Dolly...Hello, Synthia!
J. Craig Venter Institute Seeks Monopoly Patents
on the World's First-Ever Human-Made Life Form

ETC Group Will Challenge Patents on "Synthia" - Original Syn Organism 
Created in Laboratory

Ten years after Dolly the cloned sheep made her stunning debut, the  
J. Craig Venter Institute is applying for a patent on a new  
biological bombshell - the world's first-ever human-made species. The  
novel bacterium is made entirely with synthetic DNA in the laboratory.

The Venter Institute - named for its founder and CEO, J. Craig  
Venter, the scientist who led the private sector race to map the  
Human Genome - is applying for worldwide patents on what they refer  
to as "Mycoplasma laboratorium." In the tradition of 'Dolly,' ETC has  
nicknamed this synthetic organism (or 'syn') 'Synthia.'

"Synthia may not be as cuddly as a cloned lamb, but we believe this  
is a much bigger deal," explains Jim Thomas of ETC Group, a civil  
society organization that is calling on the world's patent offices to  
reject the applications. "These monopoly claims signal the start of a  
high-stakes commercial race to synthesize and privatize synthetic  
life forms. Will Venter's company become the 'Microbesoft' of  
synthetic biology?" asks Jim Thomas.

"For the first time, God has competition," adds Pat Mooney of ETC  
Group. "Venter and his colleagues have breached a societal boundary,  
and the public hasn't even had a chance to debate the far-reaching  
social, ethical and environmental implications of synthetic life,"  
said Mooney.

In Vivo, In Vitro, In-Venter? Published on May 31, 2007, the Venter  
Institute's US Patent application (number 20070122826) claims  
exclusive ownership of a set of essential genes and a synthetic "free- 
living organism that can grow and replicate" that is made using those  
genes. The Venter Institute has also filed an international patent  
application at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO  
number WO2007047148, published April 27, 2007) which names more than  
100 countries where it may seek monopoly patents.

Pandora pending: Patent experts consulted by ETC Group indicate that,  
based on the language used in the application, the Venter Institute  
researchers had probably not achieved a fully-functioning organism at  
the time of the filing (October 12, 2006).

"It has been eight months since the Institute applied for its  
patents, so we don't know how much progress they've made, whether  
there is a scientific paper in press or how imminent the first  
synthetic species is," said Pat Mooney of ETC Group. "We've been  
hearing for more than two years now that Venter is on the verge of  
announcing the birth of a new bacterium. Many people think Venter's  
company has the scientific expertise to do the job," said Mooney.

Venter's Institute claims that its stripped-down microbe could be the  
key to cheap energy production. The patent application claims any  
version of "Synthia" that can make ethanol or hydrogen. Since the  
research was partially funded by the US Department of Energy, the US  
government will hold "certain rights" to the patent, if approved.

"It's purely speculation and hype that syns [synthetic living  
organisms] will be used to ameliorate climate change by producing  
cheap ethanol or hydrogen," said Jim Thomas. "The same minimal  
microbe could be harnessed to build a virulent pathogen that could  
pose grave threats to people and the planet," he said.

"Synthetic biologists have already assembled the poliovirus from off- 
the-shelf DNA, a feat that its constructor called 'a giant wake up  
call' because of the biowarfare implications. Syns are being hyped as  
a green, climate-change solution in order to deflect concerns that  
they could be used as bioweapons," adds Silvia Ribeiro of ETC Group.

The patent application is also a wake-up call to synthetic biologists  
who are advocating for "open source" biology - the idea that the  
fundamental tools and components of synthetic biology should be  
freely accessible to researchers. In the June 4 issue of Newsweek  
Craig Venter boasts, "If we made an organism that produced fuel, that  
could be the first billion- or trillion-dollar organism. We would  
definitely patent that whole process." In 2005, Venter founded  
Synthetic Genomics, Inc. to commercialize synthetic microbes for use  
in energy, agriculture and climate change remediation.

Syn of Omission? Synthetic biologists may also be dismayed to learn  
that Synthia is being patented for what it is not. The patent  
application explains that the inventors arrived at their minimal  
genome by determining which genes are essential and which are not.  
Remarkably, their patent application claims any synthetically- 
constructed organism that lacks at least 55 of 101 genes that they've  
determined are non-essential. "All synthetic biologists developing  
functionalized microbes are going to have to pay close attention to  
the claim on a 'non-essential' set of genes. If someone creates  
another bug that lacks some of the same genes that Synthia lacks,  
will the Venter Institute sue them for infringing its patent?" asks  
Kathy Jo Wetter of ETC Group.

Action Needed: Before syns are allowed to go forward, society must  
debate whether they are socially acceptable or desirable: How could  
their accidental release into the environment be prevented or the  
effects of their intentional release be evaluated? Who will control  
them, and how? How will research be regulated? In 2006 a coalition of  
38 civil society organizations called on synthetic biologists to  
withdraw proposals for self-governance of the technology.

Today, ETC Group is writing to Dr. J. Craig Venter, CEO of the J.  
Craig Venter Institute, asking him to withdraw the Institute's patent  
applications filed at the U.S. PTO and WIPO, pending a full public  
debate over the implications of creating synthetic life forms.

"We don't want to engage in a long-term legal strategy to slap down  
bad patents. These patents must be struck down before they're  
issued," said ETC Group's Hope Shand. Last month, ETC Group won its  
13-year legal challenge when the European Patent Office revoked  
Monsanto's species-wide soybean patent.
http://www.etcgroup.org/en/materials/publications.html?pub_id=619

ETC is also writing to WIPO and the U.S. PTO, asking them to reject  
the patent on the grounds that it is contrary to ordre public (public  
morality and safety). Later this month ETC Group will attend  
Synthetic Biology 3.0 (an international conference of synthetic  
biologists) in Zuerich, Switzerland June 24-26 where it will call  
upon scientists to join in a global dialogue on synthetic biology.  
ETC will organize meetings with governments and civil society during  
the upcoming scientific subcommittee meetings of the UN Convention on  
Biological Diversity (CBD) in Paris, July 2-6, in order to discuss  
the implications of the creation of synthetic life forms for the 
Biodiversity Convention and for its protocol on biosafety. ETC Group  
will convene a global meeting of civil society actors on this and  
related issues within the next year.

Notes to Editors: See backgrounder.
http://www.etcgroup.org/upload/publication/pdf_file2/631

For further information:

Jim Thomas (Montreal) jim@etcgroup.org Tel: 1 514 271 2539

Pat Mooney (Ottawa) etc@etcgroup.org Mobile: +1 613 261 0688

Silvia Ribeiro (Mexico) silvia@etcgroup.org Tel: + 52 5555 6326 64

Kathy Jo Wetter (North Carolina) kjo@etcgroup.org Tel: +1 919 960-5223

Hope Shand (North Carolina) hope@etcgroup.org Tel: +1 919 960-5223