We will publish author Colin Bodkin's detailed analysis on the recent decision in the case of D'Arcy v Myriad Genetics [2015] HCA 35 on Westlaw AU next month.

Cancer survivor, Yvonne D’Arcy, won a High Court challenge against a company’s cancer gene patent. Myriad Genetics had a patent claiming isolated nucleic acid that encodes BRCA 1 protein implicated in a predisposition to breast or ovarian cancer. The Federal Court had dismissed D’Arcy’s appeal against a judge’s finding that the invention fell within a “manner of manufacture”. By contrast, the High Court decided that the genetic information is not “made” by human action but was naturally occurring. This decision has implications for the Australian biotech industry.