Federal Circuit Denies Sequenom’s En Banc Petition in Ariosa Dispute

12.2015

On December 2, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit handed another victory to Irell client Ariosa Diagnostics when it rejected Sequenom's petition for a rehearing en banc of its June 2015 decision in favor of Ariosa. Today's decision is the latest win Irell has delivered to Ariosa in this closely watched patent dispute with significant implications for the life sciences industry. In June 2015, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s summary judgment decision invalidating, for failure to recite patent-eligible subject matter, the patent that Sequenom asserted against Ariosa in early 2012. Sequenom alleged that Ariosa’s popular Harmony™ Prenatal Test—a highly accurate, non-invasive blood test for pregnant women to evaluate the risk of fetal chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down Syndrome—infringes Sequenom’s patent, which is directed to the alleged discovery of naturally occurring cell-free fetal DNA in the blood of pregnant women.  

The Irell team representing Ariosa includes Mike Ermer and Elizabeth Tuan.

For more details on the case, click here.