Delhi High Court Upholds Patent Rejection for Nematode-Based Cancer Detection Method

The Delhi High Court upheld the rejection of a patent application by Japan-based Hirotsu Bio Science Inc. for a nematode-based cancer detection method, ruling it as a non-patentable diagnostic process under Section 3(i) of India's Patents Act, 1970. The method uses nematodes' chemotactic response to biological samples to indicate cancer presence. The court rejected the firm's argument that the method was merely a detection process, affirming that it involved essential diagnostic steps, including data analysis and disease indication.