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| Charles Dadswell, Illumina's general counsel |
Illumina ($ILMN) slapped U.K. molecular diagnostics outfit Premaitha Health with a patent infringement suit over noninvasive prenatal testing technology, months after the company settled the score with archrival Sequenom ($SQNM) over patents for competing prenatal tests.
The San Diego, CA-based company claims that Premaitha's Iona test violates two of its patents in the U.K. for cell-free fetal DNA for noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT), which uses next-generation sequencing to analyze the genetic material from a sample of maternal blood to screen for chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome. Illumina is coming down hard on the company, seeking all available remedies including damages and an injunction that would prevent Premaitha from selling its Iona test.
"Illumina filed this suit to actively defend its intellectual property rights," Charles Dadswell, senior vice president and general counsel for Illumina, said in a statement. "We will also continue to monitor the NIPT field and file patent suits where appropriate when our patents are infringed."
The move comes a few months after Illumina settled its feud with Sequenom over patents for NIPTs. In December, the companies agreed to resolve all pending infringement claims and pool their resources to develop new products. As part of the agreement, Illumina walked away with exclusive worldwide rights to the companies' pooled intellectual property and the right to license its technology to outside labs that want to create their own prenatal tests using the companies' patents. But Illumina also agreed to pay Sequenom a royalty on sales of its in vitro prenatal diagnostic kits and make ongoing payments to the company through 2020.
In the meantime, Premaitha continues to chart progress with its Iona diagnostic. In February, the company won European approval for the product and recently inked a deal with Dutch outfit Esperite to use Iona to screen for Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome and Patau syndrome at its Genoma subsidiary's Swiss labs. Premaitha bills its NIPT test as being more sensitive and specific than other tests on the market, offering a lower false-positive rate and reducing the need for follow-up tests.
"The completion of this agreement so soon after receiving our CE mark is also a major achievement," Premaitha CEO Dr. Stephen Little said in a statement. "We hope this will be the first of many agreements for the Iona test and we looking forward to a strong and fruitful partnership with Genoma."
- read Illumina's statement
- here's Premaitha's release
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