NEW YORK – A jury in the US District Court for the District of Delaware on Friday unanimously awarded Natera approximately $96.2 million in lost profits and past royalties in a patent infringement case against CareDx.
The jury determined that while CareDx had infringed on US patent No. 11,111,544, it had not infringed on US patent No. 10,655,180, both of which cover aspects of Natera's Panorama noninvasive prenatal testing assay technology.
The jury awarded Natera damages including lost profits of $83,679,521 and past royalty of $12,535,500 for the infringement by CareDx's AlloSure technology, occurring from September 2021 through August 2023.
In a statement issued Monday, Natera said that the jury also delivered an advisory verdict to the judge in the case, stating that all claims asserted in both patents are valid. A schedule will be set for further proceedings to determine whether future sales of new versions of AlloSeq and AlloSure might also infringe upon Natera's patents.
In an investor note on Monday, BTIG said that CareDx's management indicated that the company was at no risk of willful infringement, thereby limiting the total amount of possible damages. Analyst Mark Massaro also noted CareDx said it does not believe that its AlloSure LDT infringes Natera's patent, that CareDx is unlikely to be obliged to make further payments on forward revenue, and that the current damages may be lessened or overturned altogether, although he estimated that it could take up to two more years to reach any final conclusion.
Natera filed a patent infringement lawsuit related to these patents against CareDx in May of last year. A decision from the same court in December denied a motion from CareDx for summary judgment.
CareDx said in a statement that it intends to seek judicial review of the verdict. The company also noted that the decision does not affect access to or the availability of any of CareDx's current offerings, and that no motion for injunctive relief is currently pending.
"We are pleased with the jury’s verdict and will continue to deliver innovations backed by rigorous science to improve care for transplant patients," Natera said in a statement.