Companies, trade groups and universities who fear that many important discoveries may no longer qualify for patents are among a broad coalition urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review the cancellation of a patent on a less risky form of prenatal testing.
Sequenom's patent relates to a non-invasive test of a pregnant woman's blood to detect fetal DNA, in order to screen for genetic abnormalities such as Down Syndrome. Doctors say such tests have dramatically reduced the need for invasive tests such as amniocentesis, which carry a small risk of miscarriage.
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