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Myriad loses ruling over breast cancer detection
Myriad Genetics Inc. lost a U.S. court ruling over its patents for a way to detect inherited breast cancer in a decision that may lead to other challenges to gene-related patents.
U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet in New York ruled the patents invalid today, saying they "are directed to a law of nature and were therefore improperly granted." The judge sided with the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued on behalf of groups including the Association for Molecular Pathology and American College of Medical Genetics.
"This is ground-breaking," said Barbara Caulfield, a patent lawyer with Dewey & LeBoeuf in Palo Alto, California, who submitted arguments against the patents on behalf of the March of Dimes. "Now all naturally occurring gene patents are invalid by the reasoning of this opinion. This is really a sea change for patents in life sciences."