Addressing the issue of whether method claims involving
determination of risk of cardiovascular disease based on detection
of a particular biomarker pass § 101 muster under the 2014
Supreme Court of the United States decision in Alice (
IP Update, Vol. 17, No. 7), the US Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit upheld the district court's finding
that the claims were not patent eligible. The Cleveland Clinic
Foundation v. True Health Diagnostics LLC, Case No. 16-1766
(Fed. Cir., June 16, 2017) (Reyna, J).
The patents at issue involve methods
of detecting MPO, an enzyme released when arteries are damaged or
inflamed, and evaluating the risk of cardiovascular disease based
on the MPO levels. After Cleveland Clinic filed suit, True Health
moved to dismiss on the grounds that the claims were directed to
ineligible subject matter under § 101. The district court
agreed and found all claims of the asserted diagnostic patents
invalid. Cleveland Clinic appealed.
