Wednesday, March 31, 2010
In a ruling that has enormous implications for the biotechnology industry, a district court judge in New York threw out the patents on human genes relating to breast and ovarian cancers. Judge Robert Sweet invalidated the patents held by Myriad Genetics for more than a decade, saying companies cannot legally own exclusive rights to human DNA.
Myriad was using the genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) to offer genetic testing to individuals so they could learn if they are at risk of getting breast or ovarian cancer.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation led the legal fight for the plaintiffs who challenged the patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Approximately 2,000 human genes have been patented. The legality of these patents has been thrown into question, pending an appeal by Myriad and the federal government. Legal observers say the question of whether companies can own part of the human genome may not be decided for years, until the case makes its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
-David Wallechinsky
US District Court Strikes Down Patent on Human Genes – Huge News for Genomics (by Aaron Saenz, Singularity Hub)
Breaking: District Court Rules Myriad Breast Cancer Patents Invalid (by Dan Vorhaus, Genomics Law Report)
Pigs Fly: Federal Court Invalidates Myriad’s Patent Claims (by John Conley and Dan Vorhaus, Genomics Law Report)
Judge Invalidates Patents on Human Genes Linked to Cancers (by Jonathan Perlow, Courthouse News Service)
ACLU Challenges Patents on Breast Cancer Genes: BRCA (case details, ACLU)
Association for Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (U.S. District Court, Southern New York) (pdf)
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