Federal court upholds patenting of human genes

Associated Press

NEW YORK

A federal court said Friday that human genes can be patented, reversing a lower court’s ruling that involved a test for breast cancer but which could have had big implications for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

Judge Alan Lourie’s ruling says the genes can be patented because the isolated DNA has a “markedly different chemical structure” from DNA within the body. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been awarding patents on genes for almost 30 years.

“The ability to visualize a DNA molecule through a microscope, or by any other means, when it is bonded to other genetic material, is worlds apart from possessing an isolated DNA molecule that is in hand and usable,” Lourie wrote for a 2-to-1 majority. “It is the difference between knowledge of nature and reducing a portion of nature to concrete form, the latter activity being what the patent laws seek to encourage and protect.”

The lawsuit concerned two patents held by Myriad Genetics Inc. of Salt Lake City. Myriad’s BRACAnalysis test looks at gene sequences linked to increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. The American Civil Liberties Union argued that genes couldn’t be patented, and in March 2010, a New York district court agreed.