ACLU appeals to Supreme Court again in gene patent suit

The American Civil Liberties Union and Public Patent Foundation again petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. U.S. PTO, et al., a suit about the eligibility of genes for patenting. In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled 2-1 that composition and method claims in patents from 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 year, the plaintiffs petitioned SCOTUS to review a prior CAFC decision in the case. SCOTUS subsequently vacated the prior decision and ordered CAFC to reconsider the suit in light of the high court's decision in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories Inc. In Mayo, the Supreme Court ruled that two patents from Prometheus on the use of biomarkers to help determine a patient's treatment are not eligible for patenting under Section 101 (see BioCentury Extra, Aug. 16). ...