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Cepheid to Pay Abaxis $17.25M to Settle Infringement Case

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Cepheid said after the close of the market Tuesday that it has reached a settlement with Abaxis over litigation the firms had filed against each other a couple of yeasr ago.

Abaxis filed suit against Cepheid in June 2010 claiming that the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based firm was infringing certain of its patents and was in breach of a licensing deal between the firms. Abaxis claimed that Cepheid had ceased paying royalties on a license that it took to US Patent No. 5,413,732, which covers reagents used in Cepheid's Xpert MRSA test.

Cepheid countersued a month later denying that had failed to comply with terms of the licensing agreement, including all of its royalty obligations. It also had asked the court to declare the suite of patents it licensed from Abaxis invalid.

Today, Cepheid said that the firms had agreed to settle the case and drop present and future litigation. In connection with the settlement, Cepheid has agreed to make a one-time payment to Abaxis of $17.25 million. But, it also stated that the settlement "was not a concession or determination that either party admits any liability, wrongdoing, or the truth of any allegation related" to the litigation.

Union City, Calif.-based Abaxis makes point-of-care blood chemistry analyzers for human and veterinary diagnostics.