Court Revokes Two Advanced Cell Diagnostics Patents, Dismisses Infringement Claims Against Molecular Instruments and Orders Advanced Cell Diagnostics to Make Payment of £1.35 Million to Molecular Instruments
May 21 2024 - 3:00PM
Business Wire
Molecular Instruments, Inc. announced that the Patents Court of
the High Court of England and Wales has ordered: (1) that two
patents owned by Advanced Cell Diagnostics, Inc. (a Bio-Techne
group company; NASDAQ: TECH) both be revoked; (2) that Advanced
Cell Diagnostics’ infringement claims against Molecular Instruments
are dismissed; and (3) that Advanced Cell Diagnostics make a costs
payment of £1.35 million (approximately $1.72 million at the
current exchange rate) to Molecular Instruments.
In a 2022 lawsuit filed at the High Court of England and Wales
(proceedings no. HP-2022-000026), Advanced Cell Diagnostics alleged
that Molecular Instruments’ HCR™ RNA-ISH technology infringed
European Patents (UK) 2,500,439 and 1,910,572. Mr. Justice Meade
handed down a judgment on April 23, 2024 finding that both patents
are invalid on grounds of obviousness based on “overwhelming”
primary evidence
(https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/pat/2024/898).
“We are pleased that the UK matter is now concluded,” said Dr.
Harry Choi, CEO of Molecular Instruments. “We fought this lawsuit
as a matter of principle so that the UK researchers whose projects
depend on the unmatched capabilities of HCR™ RNA-ISH could continue
their research. Our goal is to empower biologists, bioengineers,
drug developers, and diagnostics developers by providing them with
next-generation molecular tools that enable research
breakthroughs.”
About the HCR™ imaging platform
HCR™ RNA in situ hybridization (RNA-ISH) leverages dynamic
nanotechnology to enable small amplification components to first
penetrate a biological sample without interacting and then
autonomously grow bright amplification polymers at the site of RNA
targets within the sample. This unique combination of properties
enables automated chromogenic and fluorescent HCR™ RNA-ISH
workflows to be entirely protease-free, preserving sample
morphology and protein target integrity for native compatibility
with existing immunohistochemistry (IHC)/immunofluorescence (IF)
assays. Likewise, manual fluorescent HCR™ RNA-ISH assays offer
unmatched performance, versatility, and robustness in samples of
all varieties including whole-mount vertebrate embryos,
multi-species environmental samples, thick brain slices, and
ultrathick samples up to 1 cm.
About Molecular Instruments
Molecular Instruments® (www.molecularinstruments.com) develops
and synthesizes molecular kits powered by the breakthrough HCR™
imaging platform for applications in academic research, drug
development, synthetic biology, and clinical pathology and
diagnostics.
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media@molecularinstruments.com Joyce Yoo