Yesterday, a federal judge said that Myriad couldn’t patent aspects of BRCA1 and BRCA2 because they are products of nature.   I think this is the right thing to do.  Some argue that companies need “protection” in order to introduce gene based tests, but I believe that the real competition will be the cost/quality of the test and its interpretation.   With millions of potential genetic tests, I think it will be about quality of information provided.   I have heard specific mentions of Myriad and fear of litigation when people have discussed putting information about BRCA1 and BRCA2 based on genetic tests.  It seemed ridiculous that part of the genome would be “redacted” because Myriad owned it (admittedly, I am greatly simplifying the arguments!).   The report is 152 pages, and I haven’t read it yet, but with a sabbatical in my future, this may make for some great leisure reading.   I think this clears the way for healthy competition in the genomics space, with the basic information available to all to use in creating useful products for healthcare providers.