Nel schreef op 24 mei 2016 08:48:
[...]
In arriving at this decision, the Court accepted Premaitha's argument that the patents in question are all closely connected and that only a combined trial would allow all relevant matters to be addressed appropriately. The October 2016 trial date has therefore been cancelled.
In addition, the Company's application to include an antitrust defence and counterclaim was presented to the Court. Premaitha alleges that Illumina's actions raise serious anticompetitive issues. The Court ordered that Illumina has until 28 May 2016 to present any arguments as to why Premaitha's application to include the antitrust defence and counterclaim should not be accepted.
Stephen Little, CEO, said: "The Court accepted our position that these three patents are all centred on the same technology. As a result, the Court has adopted the timetable suggested by Premaitha, meaning all patent claims will be assessed simultaneously. We continue to believe the patents held by Illumina are invalid and that, in any event, the IONA® test does not infringe them.
"We are also very pleased that the Company's antitrust defence has been presented to the Court and will be heard again within two months. We have long believed that Illumina's motivation in pursuing these claims is to protect and extend its dominant position in the next generation sequencing market. If such anticompetitive conduct is allowed to go unaddressed by the UK courts, it will have severe repercussions for the non-invasive prenatal screening market, reducing choice and slowing down innovation in the clinical management of pregnant women.
"In our view, the decisions at the CMC provide a good platform for us to make our case to the Court and we remain confident that we will prevail. In addition, the removal of the October trial date allows us to continue to build on our current business momentum, accelerating growth and adoption of the IONA® test, unencumbered by an imminent court date. We remain focused on offering expectant parents the choice to use our safe, accurate and regulated non-invasive test wherever they are in the world."
20 april 2016