The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that human genes cannot be patented, a decision which would have potentially far-reaching effects on medical and biotechnology industries.

"We hold that a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated, " Justice Clarence Thomas wrote on behalf of the court.

The case centered on a Utah-based company called Myriad Genetics that obtained patents on testing for so-called BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 gene mutations. The mutations, while rare, signal a high risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer in affected women.

"Myriad did not create anything. To be sure, it found an important and useful gene, but separating that gene from its surrounding genetic material is not an act of invention," Thomas said.

"Groundbreaking, innovative, or even brilliant discovery does not by itself" guarantee a patent, said the justice.

But Myriad maintains valid patents for "synthetically created DNA" known as complementary DNA, or cDNA, because it's created in the laboratory and not a "product of nature", Thomas added.

Responding to the decision, Myriad, which said it still had " more than 500 valid and enforceable claims in 24 different patents conferring strong patent protection for" its gene test, said the court had "appropriately upheld some patent claims, disappointed elsewhere."

"We believe the Court appropriately upheld our claims on cDNA, and underscored the patent eligibility of our method claims, ensuring strong intellectual property protection for our BRACAnalysis test moving forward," Peter Meldrum, company president and chief executive, said in a statement.

"More than 250,000 patients rely upon our BRACAnalysis test annually, and we remain focused on saving and improving peoples' lives and lowering overall healthcare costs."

Opponents of Myriad, which argued that allowing genes to be patented slows or shuts down scientific research involving those genes, hailed the court's ruling as a victory. They said they believe the ruling could impact the many other patents that were granted on "isolated" genes.

"By invalidating these patents, the court lifted a major barrier to progress in further understanding how we can better treat and prevent disease," Sandra Park, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the groups bringing the challenge, said in a statement. "In fact, the decision will help, not hinder, the biotechnology industry."

(Source: Xinhua)