Senator urges NIH to intervene on BRCA patents

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) sent a breast cancer 1 early onset (BRCA1) and BRCA2 genetic testing. Under the act, NIH may require the patent holder for patents that were developed using federally funded research to license the patent to other parties. According to the letter, patents covering BRCA1 and BRCA2 testing owned by Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN) are based in part on federally funded research.

Earlier this month, Myriad and a group of four other plaintiffs filed two patent infringement suits in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah against Ambry Genetics Corp. (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) and Gene By Gene Ltd. (Houston, Texas) alleging the diagnostic companies are infringing Myriad's patents by offering BCRA1 and BRCA2 gene sequencing tests. Both companies began offering tests immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that isolated DNA cannot be patented, but cDNA can be patented. According to the letter, Myriad charges $3,000-$4,000 for its BRCA test, which detects mutations in both BRCA1 and BRCA2. Ambry charges $2,200 for its comparable BRCA test, while Gene by Gene charges $995 for its comparable test (see BioCentury, June 17). ...