NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Illumina today said that it has filed a second patent infringement suit against Complete Genomics, following an earlier patent suit in 2010.
In the new suit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of California, Illumina claims that Complete Genomics' combinatorial probe-anchor ligation read technology infringes its US Patent No. 8,192,930, entitled "Method for sequencing a polynucleotide template."
Illumina said it is seeking "all available remedies, including injunctive relief."
Illumina previously sued Complete Genomics two years ago, alleging that the company infringes three of its patents — US Patents Nos. 6,306,597; 7,232,656; and 7,598,035.
In response, Complete Genomics countersued Illumina, denying all infringement and claiming that Illumina's patents are either invalid or unenforceable.
Earlier this year, the court in the first Illumina case issued a claims construction order for the '597 patent, entitled "DNA sequencing by parallel oligonucleotide extensions." According to Illumina, the court's interpretation of the disputed patent terms "affirmed the breadth of the patent and supports Illumina's position that Complete Genomics infringes that patent."
Illumina and Complete Genomics are competitors for human whole-genome sequencing services, each using their own sequencing platform.
While Complete Genomics' business is entirely focused on human genome sequencing services, Illumina offers such services through partners in its Illumina Genome Network.
In a statement issued a day later, Complete Genomics said it considers the lawsuit "wholly without merit" and it intends to "vigorously defend" against the suit.
"This is yet another attempt by Illumina to compete in the courtroom instead of the marketplace and reflects the extent to which it sees Complete's more accurate genome sequencing technology as a competitive threat," Complete Genomics Chairman, CEO, and President Clifford Reid said in a statement.