Supreme court rules against Nestle unit on patent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Prometheus Laboratories could not patent a diagnostic method to observe changes in a patient’s body to determine the best drug dosage for certain diseases, a decision that may affect the future of personalized medicine. The justices unanimously overturned a ruling by a U.S. appeals court allowing the patent for Nestle SA unit Prometheus for using synthetic thiopurine compounds to treat gastrointestinal disorders such as Crohn’s disease and other auto-immune illnesses. …