Sequenom Sued by Beckman Coulter and Orchid Cellmark

Beckman Coulter (Fullerton, CA, USA) and Orchid Cellmark (Dayton, OH, USA) have filed a lawsuit against Sequenom (San Diego, CA, USA) in a patent infringement case that alleges Sequenom is guilty of violating patents belonging to Orchid and licensed to Beckman.

Sequenom is being sued over its MassArray iPlex products that are designed for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping applications. Beckman Coulter and Orchid Cellmark claim that the products infringe on three patents that cover techniques and reagents used for genotyping applications, part of Beckman's GenomeLab SNPstream genotyping system--an automated scaling system capable of performing 4,600-3,000,000 SNP genotypes per day.

The three patents in dispute refer to a reagent composition that can determine the identity of a nucleotide base at a specific position in a nucleic acid of interest. The invention may be used to determine the presence or absence of a specific nucleotide sequence in a sample. It may also be employed in determination of genotype and in the identification of different alleles.

Sequenom said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in June 2008 that it believed that the plaintiffs' claims were without merit and it would vigorously defend against the claims advanced in the complaint.

The firms have asked the court to permanently instruct Sequenom to refrain from selling products that they believe infringe the three patents. In addition, the companies are also seeking damages for lost profit and costs associated with the lawsuit.


Related Links:
Beckman Coulter
Orchid Cellmark
Sequenom