Myriad Genetics Inc. (MYGN), the biggest maker of tests for hereditary risks of breast and ovarian cancer, fell as much as 13 percent after losing its bid to block competing products while a patent-infringement case is pending.

Myriad is unlikely to win lawsuits claiming tests sold by Ambry Genetics Corp. violate its patents and hurt business, U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby in Salt Lake City said yesterday in a decision. There are substantial questions as to whether Myriads ideas cover something eligible for a patent, he said.

Myriad dropped 8.6 percent to $34.49 at 10:01 a.m. New York time, after falling as low as $32.76.

The tests check genes known as BRCA to determine if there is a hereditary risk of developing the diseases. Public awareness of the tests has grown since Academy Award-winning actress Angelina Jolie said last year that she had a double mastectomy after Myriad tests showed she had a mutation linked to the cancer that killed her mother at 56. Salt Lake City-based Myriad gets about three-quarters of its revenue from the tests.

The practical result of Myriads patents has been to hinder or halt follow-up research, data sharing, patient testing, and the creation of additional and more affordable technologies for BRCA1 and BRCA2 testing, Shelby said in his 106-page decision.

Myriads policy of keeping its database private distorts rather than serves the patent systems goal of public disclosure in exchange for exclusive rights, the judge said.

Ambry began offering tests after a June 13 U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidated some of Myriads patents on genes linked to the diseases. Myriads July 10 lawsuits claim infringement of other patent claims that werent part of that high-court ruling.

Other companies, including Quest Diagnostics Inc., (DGX) also have entered the market and are challenging the Myriad patents. Gene by Gene Ltd. reached an agreement last month that included it stopping sales of its test.

Myriad wanted the competing products halted until a court decision on its patent-infringement claims, which could take a year or more. Shelby had to consider Myriads chance of winning the case and which side would experience the greater harm.

The other owners of the patents -- the University of Utah, the University of Pennsylvania, the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and Endorecherche Inc. -- joined in the suits.

Read more from the original source:
Myriad Falls After Losing Bid to Block Competing Tests

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