By James Vicini

WASHINGTON | Mon Mar 26, 2012 7:58pm BST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday set aside a ruling that said Myriad Genetics Inc could patent two genes linked to breast and ovarian cancers, and ordered further review by a lower court in light of a conflicting ruling in a similar case.

The Myriad case has been closely watched by the biotechnology industry, with some insiders suggesting that a ruling against gene patenting could have a devastating effect on future innovation.

That includes the fledgling field of personalized medicine, which depends on genetic tests, such as those developed by Myriad, to match patients with specific therapies.

The justices delayed any action on the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that Myriad has the right to patent two human genes, known as BRCA1 and BRCA2, that account for most inherited forms of breast and ovarian cancers.

The Supreme Court ruled last week in a separate case involving medical diagnostics that companies cannot patent observations about a natural phenomenon. On Monday, it asked the lower court to revisit the Myriad case to view how it may or may not relate to that decision.

The move is expected to delay a verdict in the Myriad case by as much as several years. In the case of the individual company, that may give it enough time to benefit from the use of its contested patents. Shares in Myriad rose over 3 percent.

"Our intellectual property consultant could potentially see a scenario where the case doesn't move its way back to the Supreme Court for another 2 to 3 plus years, keeping the BRACAnalysis franchise safe from competition," said Junaid Husain, a research analyst for Dougherty & Co.

Women who test positive using Myriad's gene test, called BRACAnalysis, have an 82 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer and a 44 percent higher risk of ovarian cancer in their lifetimes. Such tests could help determine a future course of therapy.

Original post:
Myriad gene patent ruling sent back to lower court