A U.S. appeals court rejected efforts to clarify what types of medical diagnostics are eligible for patent protection, urging Congress or the Supreme Court to straighten out an issue that’s roiled the biotech industry.
A divided 12-member U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said it won’t revisit a February decision to invalidate a patent licensed to Quest Diagnostics Inc.’s Athena unit for a way to diagnose a severe neurological disorder.
“We can accomplish little in doing so, as we are bound by the Supreme Court’s decision” that limited diagnostic patents, Circuit Judge Alan Lourie wrote. “Some of us ...