The Thing Is: the genome

Just when it looked as if the lawyers would be the only winners from the unravelling of our genetic code, Sir John Sulston stepped forward last week to claim his Nobel prize for medicine.

Sir John and his Cambridge University team were responsible for producing the first draft of the human genome – a mighty database published two years ago that was heralded at the time as the gateway to a new era of drugs research and biotechnology. Almost as significant, however, was his insistence that the gene map be freely available to all.

Unfortunately, his was a lone voice in an industry whose decade-long obsession has been to turn the discovery and patenting of genes into a ruthless production line.

Biotech companies have rushed to stake their claims to our genes, and now guard their prizes jealously. But the pace of development from patent to working drug has not matched the hype about what could be achieved. Meanwhile, the lawyers have sunk their teeth into the many issues arising from conflicting patent claims.

Now, in the very week that Sir John got his Nobel gong, it looks as if the full human genome is again up for commercial grabs.

Researchers in San Francisco have just cracked a second version of the genome that they describe as the "proof-read" version. Since the research is entirely the property of their company, Perlegen Sciences, they now have the option of selling it to biotech and drug companies.

The idea of a proof-read genome began almost as soon as the original was completed. The human genome is a string of 3 billion chemical "letters", and though our genes are virtually identical, nearly two million "misspellings" regularly occur.

The newly proof-read genome, which required an investment of $50m (£32m), is referred to as the holy grail for drugs researchers: these misspellings are regarded as the keys to understanding disease.

Whether or not this proof-read version is the next leap forward, its appearance has already sparked the now traditional response from the big players in the industry: they want to use it, and they want it exclusively.

If Sir John Sulston hasn't given up on the idea of having the complete genome freely available to the world, his best bet may be to hire a good team of lawyers.