Don’t hit the panic button

On October 7, 2015, the High Court of Australia (the country’s most senior court) unanimously ruled that isolated naturally-occurring nucleic acids are not patentable subject matter. This decision overturned the earlier ruling of the Federal Court of Australia and the unanimous decision of the full Federal Court. The case results from a legal challenge to Myriad’s Australian patent number 686004 from breast cancer survivor Yvonne D’Arcy.