Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/12pdf/12-398_1B7D.pdf
Page Number: 17.0

14 

ASSOCIATION FOR MOLECULAR PATHOLOGY v. 
MYRIAD GENETICS, INC.
 
Opinion of the Court 

subsequent language Myriad explains that the location of 
the  gene  was  unknown  until  Myriad  found  it  among  the
approximately  eight  million  nucleotide  pairs  contained  in 
a subpart of chromosome 17.  See Ibid.5  The ’473 and ’492 
patents contain similar language as well.  See id., at 854, 
947.  Many  of  Myriad’s  patent  descriptions  simply  detail
the  “iterative  process”  of  discovery  by  which  Myriad  nar-
rowed the possible locations for the gene sequences that it 
sought.6    See,  e.g.,  id.,  at  750.  Myriad  seeks  to  import 
these  extensive  research  efforts  into  the  §101  patent-
eligibility  inquiry.    Brief  for  Respondents  8–10,  34.  But 
extensive effort alone is insufficient to satisfy the demands 
of §101.

Nor are Myriad’s claims saved by the fact that isolating
DNA from the human genome severs chemical bonds and 
thereby  creates  a  nonnaturally  occurring  molecule.    Myr-
iad’s claims are simply not expressed in terms of chemical
composition,  nor  do  they  rely  in  any  way  on  the  chemi-
cal  changes  that  result  from  the  isolation  of  a  particular 
section of DNA.  Instead, the claims understandably focus
on  the  genetic  information  encoded  in  the  BRCA1  and 

—————— 

Notwithstanding  Myriad’s  repeated  use  of  the  phrase  “present 
invention,”  it  is  clear  from  the  text  of  the  patent  that  the  various 
discoveries are the “invention.” 

5 “Starting from a region on the long arm of human chromosome 17 of
the human genome, 17q, which has a size estimated at about 8 million
base  pairs,  a  region  which  contains  a  genetic  locus,  BRCA1,  which 
causes  susceptibility  to  cancer,  including  breast  and  ovarian  cancer, 
has been identified.”  Ibid. 

6 Myriad  first  identified  groups  of  relatives  with  a  history  of  breast 
cancer  (some  of  whom  also  had  developed  ovarian  cancer);  because 
these individuals were related, scientists knew that it was more likely
that their diseases were the result of genetic predisposition rather than
other factors.  Myriad compared sections of their chromosomes, looking 
for shared genetic abnormalities not found in the general population.  It 
was that process which eventually enabled Myriad to determine where 
in the genetic sequence the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes reside.  See, e.g., 
id., at 749, 763–775.