genglob magazine

A biotechnology company that holds patents on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes may lose them after a federal judge ruled that seven of their 23 patents involving the genes tied to breast and ovarian cancers should not have been granted, the New York Times reports. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation filed a suit last year, claiming that patents held by Myriad Genetics kept competitors from creating tests to find mutations in the genes and stifled research.If the court’s decision is upheld, the biotechnology industry would “have to get more creative about how to retain exclusivity and attract capital in the face of potentially weaker patent protection,” said Kenneth Chahine, who filed an amicus brief for Myriad, the Times reports. Read the rest of this entry »