Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Nov 30 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed
to decide whether human genes can be patented, a hotly contested
issue with broad consequences for the future of gene-based
medicine.
The nation’s highest court agreed to review a case over
whether Myriad Genetics Inc may patent two genes linked
to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.
In a 2-1 ruling on August 16, a panel of the U.S. Federal
Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. upheld the
biotechnology company’s right to patent “isolated” genes that
account for most inherited forms of the two cancers.
