Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

WSJ on the MYGN arguments today:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324485004578424782830965300.html

Supreme Court justices were skeptical Monday of industry assertions that human DNA extracted from the body could be patented like a mechanical invention, suggesting that biomedical companies will have to do more than simply isolate genes in order to obtain monopoly control over their use.

… Monday's arguments boiled down to a battle of analogies, with Myriad lawyer Gregory Castanias contending that the company's work in isolating the gene was akin to carving a baseball bat from a tree trunk—producing a new product that had been wholly contained within an organism. That example struck out with Chief Justice John Roberts, who said that carving a bat required a transformative level of ingenuity absent from Myriad's claim, which amounted simply to "snipping" an existing gene from DNA strands.

… Still, several justices said they were unsatisfied with the challengers' attorney, Christopher Hansen, when he said professional satisfaction and public acclaim were sufficient incentives for additional genetic research. Those concerns seemed to point the court toward the Obama administration's position in the case. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli argued that native DNA, even when isolated, isn't patentable, but a variety synthesized from other genetic components, known as cDNA, should be.