The legal battle over patents on breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 held by Myriad Genetics of Salt Lake City has taken a new turn today with a decision of a US court of appeal. The decision supports a part of the company's claims and deny others.
This argument of BRCA genetic testing went all the way to the Supreme Court earlier this year, following an appeal by both parties, Myriad and a group of medical organizations coordinated by the American civil Liberties Union and the public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), both of New York City. The Supreme Court sent down to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) to a new analysis.
In the today CAFC rules that Myriad's gene patents themselves are invalid "because each of the claimed molecules represents a non-naturally occurring composition of matter. " This reasoning presupposes that patents are based on "non-natural" segments of DNA extracted from the cells, and not DNA as occurs in the nucleus. The court also rules that a method for screening potential cancer therapeutics by monitoring their effects on cell growth is patentable, contrary to the opinion of the lower court. But CAFC Judge zero claims company on screening cancer risk by comparing or analyzing DNA sequences because these methods are based on "abstract mental steps" of logic that are not "transformative" .
one of the three judges decide, William Bryson, dissents in part from the majority opinion, arguing that the allegations of the Myriad BRCA fragments of genes and genes are not valid. he writes that he fears that if the opinion of the current majority, he "probably will have broad consequences, such as preempting methods for whole genome sequencing."
the decision unlikely to fully satisfy either party of Battling, although some biotech companies can be relieved that the court did not erase all gene patents.
Myriad has not respond to an email query about what he planned to do. Prosecutor Daniel Ravicher of PUBPAT, who led the legal battle against the BRCA patents, replied that his group has not "taken a final decision on what we will do. ... But we are not satisfied with this result and believe that the dissenting judge in the Court of appeal today's decision is correct that isolated human genes are not patentable. "
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