WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court seemed worried Monday about the idea of companies patenting genes that can be found inside the human body, as it heard arguments in a case that could profoundly reshape U.S. medical research and the fight against diseases like breast and ovarian cancer.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been awarding patents on human genes for almost 30 years, but opponents of Salt Lake City-based Myriad Genetics Inc.’s patents on two genes linked to increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer say patent protection should not be given to something that can be found inside the human body.
