NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Genetic Technologies today announced it has reached a settlement with direct-to-consumer genetic testing firm Navigenics and subsequently reached a licensing agreement for a patent related to methods of analyzing non-coding DNA sequences.
The Australian firm had sued Navigenics in May as part of a lawsuit which accused 10 companies of infringing on US Patent No. 5,612,179 titled, "Intron Sequence Analysis Method for Detection of Adjacent Locus Alleles as Haplotypes."
Along with Navigenics, other defendants in the case included Agilent Technologies; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Eurofins STA Laboratories; GlaxoSmithKline; Hologic; Merial; Neogen; Pfizer; and 454 Life Sciences.
Navigenics is the first party from the lawsuit to settle, Genetic Technologies said.
"To have a counterparty settle within the first month of filing the suit is very encouraging and speaks volumes, not only to the strength of the patents, but also the caliber of the assertion process," Paul MacLeman, CEO of Genetic Technologies, said in a statement.
Financial and other terms of the settlement as well as the licensing deal with Navigenics were not disclosed.
In April, Genetic Technologies concluded another lawsuit filed in February 2010 against a number of US companies alleging infringement of the '179 patent.