No second PI for 10x against NanoString, UPC rules

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

No second PI for 10x against NanoString, UPC rules

Munich.jpg
Munich

Judge Matthias Zigann said the panel wasn’t convinced that NanoString had infringed the 10x Genomics patent

The Unified Patent Court refused to grant a second preliminary injunction for 10x Genomics against rival biotech company NanoString in Munich today, October 10.

Presiding judge Matthias Zigann said the panel was unconvinced that NanoString had infringed 10x’s patent.

The judge said the panel’s findings on infringement and validity were not prejudicial on the main proceedings.

10x won the first full PI hearing in the court’s history last month over a separate but related patent. That ruling meant NanoString cannot sell its allegedly infringing products in 17 European countries while proceedings are ongoing.

The lawsuit concerns NanoString’s CosMx Spatial Molecular Imager device and CosMx reagents for RNA detection.

10x claimed NanoString infringed patents related to Xenium, the company’s own RNA analysis tool that it launched in December 2022.

There is parallel litigation between the parties at the US District Court for the District of Delaware, where 10x has also filed two infringement lawsuits.

Trials have been scheduled in Delaware in November 2023 and September 2024.

NanoString has argued that 10x’s technology was originally developed at Harvard University with grant funding from the US National Institutes of Health, with the intention it would be made widely available via licensing.

Harvard exclusively licensed the technology to ReadCoor, which was acquired by 10x in 2020.

“In contrast with the promises made in the grant application, 10x is now using the acquired ReadCoor patents in lawsuits designed to reduce the scientific community’s access to innovative technologies intended for broad access,” NanoString has claimed.

Germany’s Federal Patent Court has also issued a preliminary opinion in which it found the claims of one of 10x’s key patents to be valid. An oral hearing has been scheduled for May 2024.

The Munich Regional Court, meanwhile, granted an injunction in favour of 10x in May this year. NanoString has appealed against that ruling to the Higher Regional Court.

10x may yet appeal the latest UPC ruling. The UPC has yet to schedule a date for a trial on the merits of the case.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

A ruling on confidentiality by the the England and Wales Court of Appeal and an intervention from the US government in the InterDigital v Disney litigation were also among top talking points
Moore & Van Allen hires former Teva counsel Larry Rickles to help expand the firm’s life sciences capabilities
Canadian law firms should avoid ‘tunnel vision’ as exclusive survey reveals client dissatisfaction with risk management advice and value-added services
In major recent developments, the CoA ruled on director liability for patent infringement, and Nokia targeted Paramount at the UPC and in Germany
Niri Shan, the newly appointed head of IP for UK, Ireland and the Middle East, explains why the firm’s international setup has brought UPC success, and addresses German partner departures
Vlad Stanese joins our ‘Five minutes with’ series to discuss potentially precedent-setting trademark and copyright cases and his love for aviation
Heath Hoglund, president of Via LA, discusses how it sets royalty rates and its plans to build on growth in China
Stobbs stands accused of interfering with the administration of justice after Brandsmiths’ client was subjected to an interim injunction for unjustified threats
The firm, known for its prosecution expertise, discusses its plans following the appointment of a UK-based patent litigation head and two new partners
Ed White at Clarivate provides an exclusive insight into the innovation power clusters reshaping Europe and the Middle East’s IP landscape, and why quality is the new currency of invention
Gift this article