SAN DIEGO, June 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequenom, Inc.
(NASDAQ: SQNM), a life sciences company committed to enabling
healthier lives through the development of innovative products and
services, today issued a statement on the ruling by the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on the Company's U.S. Patent No.
6,258,540 ("'540 Patent").
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today upheld
the ruling of the United States District Court for the Northern
District of California that the
claims of the Company's '540 patent are not patent eligible under
the patent eligibility criteria established by the Supreme Court's
Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories
decision.
In a concurring opinion, Circuit Judge Richard Linn wrote that he joined the decision
"only because I am bound by the sweeping language of the test set
out in Mayo…." He concluded that, but for that
language, "I see no reason, in policy or statute, why this
breakthrough invention [as claimed in the '540 Patent] should be
deemed patent ineligible."
As a practical matter, the Company believes that the ruling has
little business impact, as it has been operating under the District
Court's invalidity ruling since October
2013, and due to the pooling arrangement of NIPT
intellectual property entered into with Illumina, Inc. in December
2014. In addition, valid and enforceable patents with claims
equivalent to those of the '540 Patent are issued in Europe, Japan, Hong
Kong, Canada and
Australia.
The Company understands that patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C.
section 101 is an emerging and complex set of issues and is
considering its options for further appeal.
About Sequenom
Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is
committed to enabling healthier lives through the development of
innovative products and services. The Company serves patients
and physicians by providing early patient management information.
To learn how Sequenom is interpreting the genome to improve
your life, visit www.sequenom.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release regarding matters
that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995, including statements regarding the development of
innovative products and services and the expected impact of the
Court's decision. Because such statements are subject to
risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Risks are described more fully in the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including without limitation the Company's most recent Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q and other documents subsequently filed with or
furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. All
forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak
only as of the date on which they were made. The Company
undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect
events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on
which they were made.
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SOURCE Sequenom, Inc.