A Dash of International Flavor

Adding an international twist to the year's biggest patent story, Myriad has surrendered its BRCA patents in Australia, reports Genomics Law Report's Dan Vorhaus and John Conley. Several months ago, a group of plaintiffs in Australia filed a lawsuit against Myriad similar to the one filed in the US, arguing that the patents are invalid because genes can't be patented. But while Myriad is appealing the decision made in the US to invalidate the patents, in Australia, the company has offered to surrender them, Conley and Vorhaus say, in what some say is an attempt to end a legal challenge in Australia that could adversely affect Myriad's case in the US. What does this mean for Myriad's appeal here? Not much, Vorhaus and Conley say. Any action taken against Myriad's patent in Australia was always unlikely to have much effect on its US patent. "Perhaps Myriad’s decision is nothing more than a somewhat puzzling attempt at public relations maneuvering," they add.