Supreme Court vacates Myriad judgment

The U.S. Supreme Court vacated a lower court's decision in Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. Myriad Genetics et al. and ordered the court to reconsider the gene patenting suit in light of the Supreme Court's decision last week in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories Inc.

Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that composition patents held by Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN) covering the breast cancer 1 early onset (BRCA1) and BRCA2 genes are valid under Section 101 of the Patent Act. Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that two patents from Prometheus Laboratories Inc. (San Diego, Calif.) on the use of biomarkers to help determine a patient's treatment are not eligible for patenting under Section 101 (see BioCentury, March 26). ...