GE Wins Arbitration Against ABI in Licensing Dispute; ABI to Record $20M Charge in Fiscal Q1

NEW YORK, Nov. 7 (GenomeWeb News) - Applied Biosystems said last week that an arbitrator has sided with Amersham Biosciences, now GE Healthcare, in the companies' dispute over a licensing agreement related to DNA sequencing reagents and kits.

Amersham had alleged, among other things, that ABI had underpaid on royalties under the license deal. The arbitrator has awarded Amersham past damages based on an increase in royalty rates for certain DNA sequencing enzymes and kits that contain those enzymes, plus interest, fees, and costs in an amount to be determined.

ABI said it will record a pre-tax adjustment of approximately $20.4 million to its previously reported first quarter fiscal 2006 results as a result of the decision, but that its fiscal year 2006 outlook will not be impacted.