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Agilent Granted Motion to Amend Complaint for Lawsuit Against Twist Bioscience

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Agilent Technologies' motion to amend its complaint in a lawsuit it filed against Twist Bioscience in 2016 was granted, according to documents Twist filed today with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Santa Clara Superior Court also denied Agilent's motion to limit the discovery that Twist and Twist CEO Emily Leproust could seek in the case and set a date for the trial of Feb. 24, 2020.

Agilent originally filed its lawsuit against Twist in the Superior Court of the State of California in 2016 against Twist, Leproust and 20 other defendants, alleging they stole intellectual property.

In August, Agilent filed a motion to amend the suit, saying that it uncovered new and relevant facts.

Leproust worked at Agilent for 13 years, and in her last position there served as director of applications and chemistry R&D of genomics.  She founded Twist in 2013.

Agilent alleges that Leproust misappropriated technology developed while she was still an Agilent employee. In its amended complaint, it alleges that other former employees misappropriated confidential Agilent information including trade secrets. It also alleges that Leproust actually founded and became CEO of Twist in 2011, before she officially left Agilent in 2013.

In documents filed with the SEC, Twist noted that it and Agilent attended a case management hearing last week where the judge granted Agilent's motion to file its amended complaint, but denied its motion to limit discovery. The company wrote that it "continues to believe that Agilent's claims lack merit and that Agilent is not entitled to any relief. Twist also fully intends to continue to mount a vigorous legal defense to those claims, as it has for almost three years now."

In Monday afternoon trading on the Nasdaq, Twist's stock was down 14 percent at $24.54

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