On March 26, 2012, the Supreme Court issued an order vacating the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's decision in Ass'n for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. (653 F.3d 1329 (2011)). The Federal Circuit decision upheld Myriad's patents on two isolated human genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) that account for most inherited forms of breast and ovarian cancers. The Supreme Court remanded the case for further consideration in light of its decision in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc.

In its March 20, 2012 Prometheus decision, the Supreme Court unanimously held that Prometheus's claimed method for using certain individualized drug metabolite measurements to determine the calibration of a patient's drug dosage was not patent-eligible subject matter under Section 101 of the Patent Act. The court ruled that the claimed method simply recited a law of nature.

The Federal Circuit's review in Myriad, which considers whether isolated DNA molecules may be patented, also concerns the scope of patentable subject matter.

For a more detailed discussion of Prometheus, see Practice Note, In Dispute: Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories.