T 2472/17 - Non-invasive collecting of intestinal cells

Key points

• Claim 1 reads: “A non-invasive method for collecting a sample of intestinal or bowel cells or cell fragments the method consisting of: (a) taking a swab of mucocellular layer material which originates from said bowel or intestine and is excreted during defaecation, from the surface of the anal area in the vicinity of the exterior opening of the anal canal, wherein said swab is taken following defaecation before cleaning the area, and (b) placing said swab of mucocellular layer material into a medium for sample storage or lysis"
• “The application relates to the provision of a method for collecting a sample of colorectal mucocellular layer for detecting diagnostically informative disease biomarkers ...  [this] may be crucial in detecting colorectal cancer”. 
• The Board considers the claim to be inventive and remits the case with the order to grant the patent. 
• The Board does not discuss the requirement of Articles 52 and 57 that the claimed invention should be industrially applicable. 

EPO T 2472/17 - link

4. Inventive step

4.1 The application relates to the provision of a method for collecting a sample of colorectal mucocellular layer for detecting diagnostically informative disease biomarkers (page 1, lines 6 to 9). Analysing the mucocellular layer containing exfoliated cells, cell fragments and biomolecules reflecting the state of the colorectal mucosa may be crucial in detecting colorectal cancer (page 8, lines 2 to 10).

To this end, a non-invasive method for collecting a sample of intestinal or bowel cells or cell fragments comprising taking a swab of mucocellular layer material originating from the bowel or intestine from the surface of the anal area in the vicinity of the exterior opening of the anal canal, with this swab being taken following defaecation, is taught (page 13, lines 1 to 7).

4.2 Document (2) is the closest prior art.

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