NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Bioseparations firm NuSep is suing Thermo Fisher Scientific and others alleging infringement on a patent covering a cassette use for forming electrophoretic gels.
In addition to Thermo Fisher, the suit filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia names Pierce Biotechnology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Thermo Fisher, and Expedeon as defendants.
The case involves US Patent No. 5,954,934, which was issued on Sept. 21, 1999, to a company called Gradipore, which eventually became NuSep. According to the patent abstract, '934 pertains to a cassette for use in the formation of electrophoretic gel.
In its complaint filed on Tuesday, NuSep alleges Expedeon, a protein research products firm based in the UK with an office in San Diego, manufactures and sells a gel cassette under the brand name RunBlue. Expedeon sells its RunBlue products to Thermo Fisher and Pierce, who in turn sells it to the research community.
In August, NuSep informed Expedeon and Thermo Fisher by letter that the RunBlue cassettes infringe on the '934 patent. Expedeon responded in September with a letter denying NuSep's claims and calling them "exaggerated," NuSep said.
NuSep said that it believes the defendants will continue to infringe on the patent unless enjoined by the court. In addition to a permanent injunction preventing the defendants from further infringement, NuSep is seeking damages.
On deadline, Thermo Fisher and Expedeon had not responded to requests for comment.