I currently live in Chicago with my boyfriend and two cats. In my free time, I like to run along the lakefront. I recently ran a half marathon and plan on signing up for another one. My boyfriend and I also love to try new restaurants as often as we can. We also like to travel and are often planning a trip. We most recently visited Vancouver and are hoping to go to Europe next!
Can you tell us of a major issue facing the legal community as we rapidly enter a new era of genomics?
The rapidly changing genomics landscape has raised many questions that the legal system will be grappling with for years to come. In addition to patent issues, there are pressing issues in regulatory law and privacy law. These are also other areas of law that can use more attorneys with technical backgrounds. To share one example, there are major regulatory issues that will be important as the technology continues to progress. First, the F.D.A. will need to determine how they classify cell and gene therapy products. Whether the product is considered a medical device, biologic, or pharmaceutical significantly impacts the F.D.A.’s approval process, including the amount of testing that is required before a product is approved for human use. The F.D.A. will also need to grapple with the issue of whether certain technologies should even be available for human use. For instance, should we allow parents to edit the genes of their children? And if we do, what genes should be “editable” and which ones should be off limits?
This interview was answered by Jenna Saunders (interviewee) in her personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this article are the interviewee's own and do not reflect the view of Honigman LLP.
