Biohackers have said they've produced a low-cost copy of $1m-per-treatment gene-therapy drug Glybera. It had been approved for sufferers of a rare blood disease, lipoprotein lipase deficiency. But Glybera was withdrawn by manufacturer UniQure because it wasn’t considered cost-effective. The group says it will start sharing the materials and describe their activities this weekend at Biohack The independent and amateur biologists who developed the copy said they want to collaborate with scientists to develop their work. A version of this article appeared in print on December 17, 2012, on Page D1 of the New York edition with the headline: The copy could infringe UniQure’s intellectual property rights, however, and the US FDA has banned DIY gene supplies.
Biohackers have said they've produced a low-cost copy of $1m-per-treatment gene-therapy drug Glybera. It had been approved for sufferers of a rare blood disease, lipoprotein lipase deficiency. But Glybera was withdrawn by manufacturer UniQure because it wasn’t considered cost-effective. The independent and amateur biologists who developed the copy said they want to collaborate with scientists to develop their work. A version of this article appeared in print on December 17, 2012, on Page D1 of the New York edition with the headline: The copy could infringe UniQure’s intellectual property rights, however, and the US FDA has banned DIY gene supplies.