US Court Grants MGI's Motion to Amend in Suit Against Illumina

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has granted MGI's motion for leave to amend to add a new inequitable conduct defense of patent infringement lawsuit that Illumina filed against MGI in February 2020 (Case No. 20-cv-01465).

During this patent prosecution process, MGI alleges that Illumina intentionally withheld or failed to disclose a reference to a paper by Terez Kovacs and Laslo Otvos ("Kovacs")^[1]. MGI asserts that the Kovacs reference is material, both because it discloses the same methodology that two of the inventors of the 7,541,444 patent used to convert nucleosides to nucleotides and also because it provides a motivation for a person of ordinary skill in the art ("POSITA") to convert nucleosides to nucleotides.

The Court's order concludes that MGI has acted with reasonable diligence, amendment would not be unduly prejudicial to Illumina, and MGI's proposed inequitable conduct claim is not clearly futile under the relevant pleading standards. Accordingly, MGI's motion for leave to amend is granted.

MGI has already initiated an antitrust violation complaint towards Illumina in the United States in Jan 2021. The complaint, filed recently in the California Federal Court, pleads many instances of anticompetitive behavior including asserting at least three patents against MGI companies in an unlawful and fraudulent manner.

About MGI

MGI Tech Co., Ltd. (MGI), a subsidiary of BGI Group, is committed to enabling effective and affordable healthcare solutions for all. Based on its proprietary technology, MGI produces sequencing devices, equipment, consumables and reagents to support life science research, medicine and healthcare. MGI's multi-omics platforms include genetic sequencing and medical imaging. Providing real-time, comprehensive, life-long solutions, its mission is to develop and promote advanced life science tools for future healthcare. For more information please visit https://en.mgi-tech.com. Or connect on social media: https://twitter.com/MGI_BGI or https://cn.linkedin.com/company/mgi-bgi.