The U.S. Supreme Court decided in a closed-door meeting Friday it's going to hear an epic fight over whether companies can patent isolated genes.
The high court is limiting its review to whether companies can patent the process of taking the human gene out of the body for research, SCOTUSBlog reported.
The case centers on two Myriad Genetics patents for genes that show whether women have increased chances of getting breast or ovarian cancer.
Cancer groups and patients challenged the patents on the grounds that you can't patent "products of nature." They argue that allowing one company to patent genes will interfere with research into potential cancer cures.
While the advocates won a trial court ruling in 2010, an appeals court found that isolated genes could indeed be patented, the Wall Street Journal reported. The process of removing these genes made them different from the "natural" DNA in our bodies, the appeals court ruled.
Now that the Supreme Court is reviewing that decision, the financial implications for biotech companies could be massive.
Companies say they've been patenting genes for three decades and need that protection to keep getting investment dollars, BloombergBusinessweek reports.
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