Illumina files patent infringement suit against Premaitha Health
Shares in Premaitha Health fell sharply on Monday after Illumina and its subsidiary Verinata Health filed a patent infringement suit against the molecular diagnostics company on the same day that it inked a distribution agreement for one of its products.
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The suit was filed in the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, Patents Court in the UK as Illumina argues the company's IONA test infringes its patents.
The test estimates the risk of a fetus having Down's syndrome, Edward's syndrome and Patau's syndrome by analysing cell-free fetal DNA from a sample of maternal blood.
The news came on the same day that the group announced an agreement with Esperite's Swiss subsidiary Genoma to use its IONA test for its non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) service Tranquility.
“Illumina filed this suit to actively defend its intellectual property rights. We will also continue to monitor the NIPT field and file patent suits where appropriate when our patents are infringed,” said Charles Dadswell, senior vice president at Illumina.
The directors at Premaitha said the IONA test "does not infringe the patents as claimed by Illumina" and said they will update the market with further developments.
Prior the lawsuit, Panmure Gordon analysts said the deal demonstrates that Premaitha's sales team "has the capability to deliver", giving a 'buy' recommendation and 31p target price.
Shares fell 37% to 17.33p on Monday at 13:44.