Illumina and Sequenom Pool Noninvasive Prenatal Testing Intellectual Property and End Outstanding Patent Disputes
December 03 2014 - 6:00AM
Business Wire
Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) and Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM)
today announced they have agreed to settle all pending infringement
claims and other disputes between Sequenom and Verinata Health,
Inc. The parties will pool their owned and in-licensed intellectual
property directed to noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT), including
patents that will remain the subject of ongoing interference
proceedings.
Under the agreement, Illumina will have exclusive worldwide
rights to utilize the pooled intellectual property to develop and
sell in-vitro diagnostic kits for NIPT and to license third-party
laboratories wishing to develop and sell their own
laboratory-developed NIPT tests under the collection of pooled
patents. In addition, Sequenom and Illumina will each have rights
to utilize all pooled patents to develop and sell their own
respective laboratory-developed NIPT tests. The parties will share
the revenue from the patent pool and Illumina will pay Sequenom a
royalty on sales of in-vitro diagnostic kits for NIPT.
Illumina will make a $50 million upfront payment to Sequenom as
part of the overall agreement, as well as certain ongoing
commitments for payments to Sequenom from the patent pool structure
through 2020.
“The patent pool established through this agreement eliminates
confusion over intellectual property rights and provides a single
point of contact for those wishing to license this intellectual
property for NIPT testing,” said Jay Flatley, Chief Executive
Officer for Illumina.
“This settlement will allow for easier access to both parties’
NIPT technology by healthcare providers and their patients,” said
Bill Welch, Chief Executive Officer of Sequenom. “We believe that
pooling our intellectual property will enable us to continue to
expand our NIPT laboratory test offerings while allowing Sequenom
to participate more broadly in the growing global NIPT
marketplace.”
Separately, Illumina and Sequenom entered into an amended supply
agreement whereby Illumina agreed to supply Sequenom with
instruments and reagents for an additional five years.
“Sequenom and Illumina will now be able to utilize all of their
pioneering intellectual property in the NIPT testing field in order
to enable and deliver the highest quality NIPT tests to benefit
physicians and their patients,” said Tristan Orpin, Senior Vice
President and General Manager of Reproductive and Genetic Health
for Illumina.
About Illumina
Illumina is transforming human health as the global leader in
sequencing and array-based technologies. The company serves
customers in a broad range of markets, enabling the adoption of
genomic solutions in research and clinical settings. To learn how
Illumina is unlocking the power of the genome, visit
www.illumina.com and follow @illumina.
About Sequenom
Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is a life sciences company
committed to improving health care through revolutionary genomic
and genetic analysis solutions. Sequenom develops innovative
technologies, products, and diagnostic tests that target and serve
molecular diagnostic markets. Web site: www.sequenom.com and follow
@SQNM.
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Kennedy, 858-449-9575Media
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