SickKids in Court - Are Public-Private Research Collaborations a Hindrance or a Driver of the Innovative Process?

A recent lawsuit filed by Myriad Genetics involving the alleged infringement of their controversial breast cancer screening tool has included the prestigious Toronto SickKids hospital as a co-plaintiff. This lawsuit has been a source of criticism for the hospital and has reinvigorated the debate on the merits of public-private research collaborations in health care innovation.

Isolated Genes Are None Of Your Business! – SCOTUS Decides Myriad

On June 13, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a decision which ruled against the patenting of isolated DNA sequences in their natural form in the now infamous case involving Myriad Genetics, Inc. and the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.  The decision represents a major milestone in the legal treatment of biotechnological inventions, and presents a number of relevant […]

U.S. Court of Appeals Stands Tall on the Subject of Gene Patents in the Wake of the Mayo v Prometheus Ruling

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in the case Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) and ACLU v. USPTO and Myriad Genetics (Myriad), held in August that isolated genes are a patent-eligible subject matter. The Court of Appeals reaffirmed its prior ruling on the matter, which was recently covered by IP Osgoode.

The Patentability of Gene Sequences: Myriad Genetics’ Day in the United States Supreme Court

In late March, The United States Supreme Court ordered the U.S Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit to reconsider Myriad Genetics’ existing patent on two genes associated with a high risk of breast and ovarian cancer, in light of the judgement rendered in Mayo Collaborative Services v Prometheus Labs (Prometheus). A unanimous Supreme Court […]