Federal Circuit Provides Guidance on Patentability of Recombinant Host Cells

On Feb. 20, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) issued a thoughtful analysis of biotechnology subject-matter eligibility in REGENXBIO, Inc. v. Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc., No. 24-01408 (Fed. Cir. 2026). Returning to the holdings of the seminal 1980 Supreme Court case of Chakrabarty1, the Federal Circuit held that REGENXBIO’s claims to a host cell containing a nucleic acid molecule encoding an adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid protein and a... By: Haynes Boone