NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Illumina has filed a new patent infringement lawsuit against Premaitha Health in the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, Patents Court in the United Kingdom. In the suit, Illumina alleges that Premaitha infringes on a patent it holds related to noninvasive prenatal testing.
The patent in question is one that Illumina licenses from Sequenom, the European Patent (UK) 1 524 321 B2 titled, "Non-invasive Detection of Fetal Genetic Traits." Illumina is seeking damages and injunctive relief.
The suit adds to one that Illumina first filed in 2015 against Premaitha that was later expanded to include other NIPT firms in Europe whose tests used Premaitha's technology.
In total, those lawsuits, which are still pending, allege infringement on five different NIPT patents: European Patent (UK) 0 994 963 B2, European Patent (UK) 1 981 995 B1, European Patent (UK) 2 183 693 B1, European Patent (UK) 2 385 143 B1, and European Patent (UK) 2 514 842 B1.
Those lawsuits were scheduled to be heard in a combined trial in the UK in July, but the outcome is still pending.