Free licences of European patents on the hereditary breast cancer gene BRCA2

The Institute of Cancer Research and Cancer Research Technology Limited, the technology transfer company of the charity Cancer Research UK, today announced the availability of free licences of European patents on the hereditary breast cancer gene BRCA2 to publicly funded research laboratories and not-for-profit research laboratories.

The patents are based on the pioneering work of Professor Mike Stratton undertaken at The Institute of Cancer Research and funded by CRT's parent charity, Cancer Research UK.

Further instructions for obtaining the licence can be found in the Downloads section of CRT's website: www.cancertechnology.co.uk/pages/about_download.html.

The Institute of Cancer Research is a centre of excellence with leading scientists working on cutting edge research. It was founded in 1909 to carry out research into the causes of cancer and to develop new strategies for its prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.

Cancer Research Technology Limited (CRT) is a specialist technology transfer company which aims to develop new discoveries in cancer research for the benefit of cancer patients. CRT is wholly owned by Cancer Research UK, the largest independent funder of cancer research in the world. CRT works closely with leading international cancer scientists and their institutes to protect intellectual property arising from their research and to establish links with commercial partners. CRT facilitates the discovery, development and marketing of new cancer therapeutics, vaccines, diagnostics and enabling technologies.