BRCA1 patent infringement suit
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Myriad Genetics assumes Oncormed's BRCA1/BRCA2 breast and ovarian genetic testing business and exclusive rights to Oncormed's current and pending patents for BRCA1/BRCA2 under terms of a patent infringement settlement jointly announced May 18. Oncormed will transfer to Myriad, for undisclosed fees, the components of its genetic testing business, including professional contacts and customer lists. Each company retains diagnostic and therapeutic rights in their respective patents. Oncormed initiated the suit in November, alleging that Myriad's BRACAnalysis genetic testing service infringed its BRCA1-related patent. Myriad then filed its own suit in December, claiming that Oncormed infringed a Myriad patent related to breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility genes ("The Gray Sheet" Dec. 8, 1997, In Brief)