In a unanimous opinion today, the Supreme Court of the United States rejected the patents behind a diagnostic test sold by Prometheus Laboratories San Diego, California. The decision was a blow to the biotech company and a win for a test laboratory linked to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who refused to pay royalties to Prometheus.
Mayo had developed its own diagnostic blood test, and Mayo officials argued that even if it was similar to the company, it did not violate the principles of patent law and has been medically higher. Mayo has attracted the support of amicus curiae briefs from a number of medical and leading scientific societies, while Prometheus had the support of the Biotechnology Industry Organization and other industry leaders.
The opinion of the Supreme Court, written by Justice Stephen Breyer cited the basic principles to reject Prometheus patents. According to the court, Prometheus sought to claim the processes that are not very far from natural phenomena; previous court decisions clearly show that natural phenomena are "not eligible patent." Breyer explained that the court does not allow monopolies on the "scientific basis of work tools and technology" because it "might tend to impede innovation more than it would tend to promote it. " The court also noted that Prometheus allegations fell short because his invention-a thiopurine drug monitoring process in the blood a-involved "course, a routine conventional activity previously carried out by researchers in the field. "
Battle on the Prometheus drug test was closely monitored because it can foreshadow decisions on other cases of high profile biotechnology, in particular the fight whether human genes can be patented . The court has been sitting on a request to review the validity of patents on BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast cancer genes and ovarian held by Myriad Genetics of Salt Lake City, Utah. A federal district court in 2010 found these assertions invalid because they were an attempt to kind patent. This decision went to a court of appeal, which partly accepted and partly rejected the Myriad patents. Both parties appealed to the Supreme Court, which has yet to say whether it will hear arguments on the Myriad case.
Patents of invention and blogger Dennis Crouch, in comments published today in the Patently-O column, anticipates that the Supreme Court will refer the Myriad case to the lower court for reconsideration. He also speculates that the lower court "could logically find" that, in light of today's decision, the isolated DNA quoted in Myriad BRCA gene patents is "patentable".
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