Coronavirus third wave: US biotech firm accuses Chinese laboratory helping to test Hongkongers of infringing on patent
- Illumina Cambridge claims subsidiaries of Shenzhen-based BGI are using information protected by local filing
- Chinese company says lawsuit unrelated to testing kits and equipment used for the city’s coronavirus screening
A US biotech company is suing a laboratory helping to carry out universal coronavirus testing in Hong Kong over patent infringement.
Illumina Cambridge, with offices around the world, has accused BGI subsidiaries of infringing upon a Hong Kong Standard Patent called “Modified Nucleotides for Polynucleotide Sequencing” in a claim filed to the High Court last Friday.
The health care research company is seeking multiple injunctions to prevent the defendants from continuing with the alleged activity, as well as making, using, stocking, supplying and selling kits, sequencers and services related to the protected information. It is also demanding they stop publicising associated materials.
Its application for an interlocutory injunction will be heard on Thursday. Official records show the patent was granted on August 7.
BGI said on Monday the lawsuit was unrelated to testing kits and equipment used for the city’s coronavirus nucleic acid amplification tests.
According to the chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Medical Laboratories, the technique in dispute was related to next generation sequencing (NGS)- a method for sequencing genomes at high speed and at lower cost, which has recently been used in coronavirus research around the world.
