GeneDx claims 11 Myriad patents are invalid

The molecular diagnostic testing company GeneDx has petitioned the US Patent and Trademark Office to invalidate 11 patents asserted by Myriad in a lawsuit filed against GeneDx in October 2013.

The patents cover BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes related to gene mutations that cause breast and ovarian cancer and the MYUTH gene that causes colon cancer.

It is one of the first challenges to Myriad with the inter partes review, introduced as part of the American Invents Act in 2011 and which allows third parties to challenge the validity of an existing patent.

The majority of the patents were issued to Myriad in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

A spokesperson for Myriad told LSIPR: “We continue to believe that our patents are valid and enforceable.

“We will defend our patents and believe that we’ll prevail based on the weight of the evidence,” he added.

The dispute begun in October last year when Myriad asserted 16 patents co-owned or exclusively licensed with the University of Utah in a lawsuit filed at the US District Court of Utah, Central Division.

GeneDx has so far not responded to LSIPR’s request for comment.