Illumina handed $27m in prenatal patent win
A California jury has ordered Roche-owned Ariosa Diagnostics to pay US-based gene sequencing company Illumina $27 million in a patent dispute.
Yesterday, January 25, a jury at the US District Court for the Northern District of California found (pdf) that Ariosa had infringed two of Illumina’s patents with its Harmony product, a prenatal blood test for detecting whether a baby has Down’s syndrome.
The patents—8,318,430 and 7,955,794—cover methods for testing DNA for chromosomes associated with genetic disorders.
Illumina was awarded $15,730,062 for the infringement of the ‘794 patent and $10,998,185 for the ‘430 patent.
Ariosa’s counterclaim of breach of contract (a 2012 sale and supply agreement) was rejected by the jury.
The dispute between the parties dates back to 2012, and a series of lawsuits have been filed.
In other Illumina news, LSIPR reported yesterday that Premaitha Health had secured the right to appeal against a judgment in its ongoing patent infringement disagreement with Illumina in the English High Court.
In November last year, the court ruled that Premaitha’s Iona product, a non-invasive prenatal test that estimates the risk of a foetus being born with Down’s syndrome, infringed Illumina’s patents.
Roche said it was disappointed with the decision and is reviewing its legal options.
“We do not anticipate any near-term impact on our ability to offer the Harmony test in the US. Further, it has no impact on our lab partners offering the Harmony test outside the US,” said a spokesperson for the company.
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