Pacific Biosciences sues UK company over DNA sequencing technology

Biotech company Pacific Biosciences, of California, has filed a complaint against UK-based Oxford Nanopore Technologies for alleged patent infringement.

The case, filed on Wednesday, March 15 at the US District Court for the District of Delaware, centres on Pacific’s DNA sequencing platform called SMRT.

SMRT is a technology that provides “high accuracy, ultra-long reads, uniform coverage, and is believed to be the only DNA sequencing technology that provides the ability to simultaneously detect epigenetic changes”.

The patent-in-suit is US number 9,546,400, which Oxford Nanopore allegedly infringed by selling nanopore-based single-molecule sequencing products, including MinION and PromethION sequencing instruments.

Pacific further claimed in the lawsuit that “Oxford has had knowledge of and notice of the ’400 patent and its infringement long before the filing of this complaint”.

Following the complaint, Pacific has asked the district court to enter a judgment in its favour as well as an award of damages.

A jury trial has been demanded.

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