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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