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3 September 2020AmericasSarah Morgan

CareDx drops transplant testing patent suit

California-based molecular diagnostics company CareDx and Stanford University have dropped their patent infringement suit against Tai Diagnostics, nearly five months after filing the complaint.

On Tuesday, September 1, the parties submitted their stipulation of dismissal to the US District Court for the District of Delaware, agreeing that the action be dismissed without prejudice with each side bearing its own fees and costs.

CareDx and Stanford had sued Tai Diagnostics back in April this year, accusing the Wisconsin-based biotech of infringing US patent number 10,494,669.

The patent, owned by Stanford and licensed exclusively to CareDx, covers a non-invasive method of testing if transplanted organs are being rejected.

CareDx uses the patent as a basis for AlloSure, a non-invasive blood test that measures donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA). cfDNA is fragmented DNA in the bloodstream that originates from cells undergoing cell injury and death, and when an injury occurs, dd-cfDNA increases in the blood.

Tai Diagnostics was allegedly infringing through the sale of its myTAIHEART test, which “examines the cell-free DNA in a patient blood sample as a marker for transplanted organ injury”, according to its website.

“Now, years after Stanford researchers and CareDx put in the research and development work to invent this new method and bring it to the clinical setting, Tai uses CareDx’s licensed technology without permission in violation of the patent laws. Tai must be held accountable,” said the claim.

Earlier this week, Judge Richard Andrews granted dismissal of the suit. No details of a settlement were provided in the agreement to dismiss.

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More on this story

Americas
27 March 2019   Stanford University has accused genetic testing company Natera of infringing two patents that cover a non-invasive method of testing if transplanted organs are being rejected.
Europe
11 February 2020   In a victory for the University of California, the European Patent Office has affirmed a CRISPR patent issued to Emmanuelle Charpentier, the University of California, and the University of Vienna.

More on this story

Americas
27 March 2019   Stanford University has accused genetic testing company Natera of infringing two patents that cover a non-invasive method of testing if transplanted organs are being rejected.
Europe
11 February 2020   In a victory for the University of California, the European Patent Office has affirmed a CRISPR patent issued to Emmanuelle Charpentier, the University of California, and the University of Vienna.