Potential cures for some cancers could be undermined after a legal challenge to stop corporations from owning patents over human genes was defeated, lawyers say.

Cancer Voices Australia began legal action in June 2010, worried that patenting an isolated gene known as BRCA1 would restrict research.

BRCA1 is associated with an increased risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers.

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“(Patenting) it places limits on genetic testing, genetic research and the development of treatments and cures for genetically associated disease,” Maurice Blackburn lawyer Rebecca Gilsenan said.

“Gene patents are of great concern to the medical research community and to the medical profession. Gene patents stifle innovation.”

Cancer Voices Australia’s appeal in the case against against patent-owner Myriad Genetics Inc and Melbourne-based Genetic Technologies Ltd, which holds the exclusive licence to conduct the tests in Australia, was dismissed by the full bench of the Federal Court in Sydney on Friday morning.

Ms Gilsenan said they were disappointed with the outcome.

“But in a matter of such significance we will not give up easily,” she told reporters.

“The final avenue available to us is to seek leave to appeal to the High Court and the other avenue that we… have available is to lobby the government to change the law.”

Maurice Blackburn began the case on behalf of Yvonne D’Arcy, a Brisbane woman with breast cancer.

She is “devastated” but won’t stop the fight, Ms Gilsenan said.

Ms D’Arcy is expected to speak in Brisbane later on Friday.

While the case was before the court, the companies choose not to enforce their rights over the BRCA1 patent.

Ms Gilsenan said the companies, which control access to the gene for testing and research, would be subject to “difficult and uncomfortable” public outrage if they tried to impede its wider use.

In June last year the US Supreme Court “unanimously held that genes are a product of nature and are not patentable subject matter,” Ms Gilsenan said.