As previously discussed here and elsewhere, the Supreme Court today issued its opinion in the gene patenting case Association for Molecular Pathology vs. Myriad Genetics, Inc. In a unanimous decision (.pdf) authored by Justice Thomas, the Court declared that isolated genomic DNA was not eligible for patent protection, but that cDNA – “cloned” or “complementary DNA” – could be patented. This was largely the outcome some predicted after oral argument. And while the actual business and research effects of the decision remain to be seen, this does bring to a close the longstanding practice of patenting isolated portions of the human genome in its native state.

This likely brings to a close Myriad Genetics’ saga of aggressively enforcing its patents directed to BRCA1 and BRCA2 testing

The Court’s decision was relatively simple. It began with a largely accurate, and lengthy, recitation of the molecular biology behind transcription and translation. This factored significantly into the Court’s discussion of the differences between isolated genomic DNA and cDNA, particularly the absence of introns from cDNA molecules. It then assessed the patents’ claims at issue, which were generally directed to “an isolated DNA” of varying lengths and sequences. The opinion noted that, “Myriad’s patents would, if valid, give it the exclusive right to isolate an individual’s BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes… by breaking the covalent bonds that connect the DNA to the rest of the individual’s genome.” And the Court concluded its opinion by declaring that claims directed to molecules of isolated genomic DNA, themselves, were unpatentable “products of nature” because Myriad did not “alter any of the genetic information encoded in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes,” nor did the isolated genomic DNA possess “markedly different characteristics from any found in nature.”