Sequenom’s en banc petition rejected by Federal Circuit
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has rejected Sequenom’s petition to re-hear its dispute with Ariosa Diagnostics en banc.
Today, December 2, the federal circuit published its decision to reject the petition.
In a statement, the court said a poll was taken by all the judges. The majority voted against Sequenom’s petition.
It means that the federal circuit’s decision in June to invalidate Sequenom’s patent covering the method of detecting foetal abnormalities in pregnant mothers, which it had asserted against Ariosa, stands.
In June, the three-judge panel ruled that the patent was invalid on the grounds that it covered a naturally occurring phenomenon, citing the US Supreme Court’s 2012 decision in Mayo v Prometheus.
Sequenom requested an en banc hearing in August.
Tom Goldstein, partner at Goldstein & Russell and representing Sequenom, said he is not surprised by the federal circuit’s decision.
“It is no surprise because of the widespread views that this problem is rooted in the US Supreme Court’s own decision.”
Goldstein confirmed that Sequenom will appeal against the ruling at the Supreme Court.
David Gindler, partner at law firm Irell & Manella and representing Ariosa, said he is not surprised by the decision either because the federal circuit “correctly applied Supreme Court precedent”.
“I really don’t see how the decision is an existential threat to patents,” he added.
Gindler said the claims asserted in the patent are “overbroad” and “directed to naturally occurring phenomenon”.
