NEW YORK – Natera said on Monday that the US District Court for the District of Delaware denied CareDx's motion for summary judgement on two patents held by Natera that form part of a lawsuit that Natera filed against CareDx.
The court also ruled that the two patents asserted by Natera, which cover the company's Panorama noninvasive prenatal testing assay technology, will proceed to a trial scheduled to begin on Jan. 22 of next year.
Natera and CareDx have filed various lawsuits against each other for some time.
An earlier decision in the same district ruled that three patents held by CareDx were invalid in a case that CareDx filed against Natera.
In March of last year, a jury awarded CareDx $44.9 million in damages related to false advertising in another lawsuit brought against Natera. A ruling later, however, voided those damages, ruling that CareDx failed to link any false statement to customer reliance on said advertising.
"We are gratified that the court has issued a decision that provides a clear path to trial as we work to protect our significant investments in innovation from unlawful infringement," Natera said in a statement.