Supreme Court refuses to review prenatal test patent dispute
Source: Reuters
World | Mon Jun 27, 2016 10:02am EDT
Supreme Court refuses to review prenatal test patent dispute
NEW YORK | BY ANDREW CHUNG
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid to review a legal fight over the cancellation of a patent on a less-risky form of prenatal testing, in a case that has left many companies and trade groups worried that important discoveries may no longer qualify for patents.
The decision by the Supreme Court leaves intact a ruling by a federal court to invalidate Sequenom Inc's patent in an infringement dispute with rival Ariosa Diagnostics, a unit of Roche Holding AG.
Sequenom's patent relates to a non-invasive test of a pregnant woman's blood to detect fetal DNA in order to screen for genetic abnormalities such as Down Syndrome. Doctors say such tests have dramatically reduced the need for invasive tests such as amniocentesis, which carry a small risk of miscarriage.
Sequenom's MaterniT21 prenatal test competes with Ariosa's Harmony test. Both companies are based in California.
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