How many weeks' holiday a year are there? magazines maid essay for college envy presence Gene patents interfere with scientific advancement and patient health. Myriad has a monopoly on BRCA genetic testing in the U.S. and therefore controls the type and price of testing. While scientists have developed new genetic testing technologies that can sequence all 23,000 human genes for $1,000, Myriad still charges over $4,000 for testing two genes. Other laboratories cannot provide second opinions to most patients, and they cannot include the BRCA genes when offering testing of the more than a dozen genes that are now associated with breast and ovarian cancer risk. Gene patents also have a chilling effect on research. Researchers must either obtain permission from the patent holder or run the risk of being sued. And by virtue of its patents, Myriad controls most of the data about the BRCA genes and has refused to share that information with the scientific community.