By some accounts, we have entered a golden age for innovation in personalised medicine. Through scientific advancements in the study of genetic coding and molecular analysis, it is now possible to screen an individual for certain diseases and to tailor therapies for maximum effectiveness.

But continued innovation in personalised medicine is threatened by the US’ patent system, which has increasingly found biotech inventions ineligible for patent protection. Confronted by a string of Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) rulings in recent years over patent eligibility, the Federal Circuit and other lower courts have invalidated biotechrelated patents at an alarming rate and sent mixed signals about what can be patented.

Originally published in Intellectual Property Magazine on April 21, 2017.