Why Is Myriad's Stock Booming After the Supreme Court Rejected Its Right to Patent Natural DNA?
It looks like Myriad Genetics isn't having such a bad day after all. In a unanimous decision issued Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled against Myriad in a high-profile case, saying that the company cannot patent natural DNA.
You would think this might be a bit of a bummer for the genetics company. Turns out, it's not sweating it:
Myriad's stock on Thursday, as of 12:55 PM.
After a quick, sharp tumble right after the top-line of the Supreme Court's decision was released, Myriad's stock hit a four-year high. Why are investors feeling so bullish? Because once they started looking at the actual opinion, they seem to have found enough ambiguity to feel comfortable jumping in. The court-approved right for Myriad to patent synthetic DNA, or cDNA, seems to have saved what could have been a pretty rough morning for the company.
Myriad blasted out a press release late Thursday morning that bolstered its public positivity after the ruling:
“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,” said Peter D. Meldrum, president and CEO. “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.”
Of course, it also doesn't hurt your stock when you have Angelina Jolie on your side.
