MGI Concurs With UK Court's Ruling to Invalidate Illumina's Patent

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MGI, a subsidiary of BGI Group, announces today an official statement in response to the ruling of the Patents Court within the High Court of Justice for England & Wales on 20 January 2021 and calls for fair competition in the gene-sequencing market.

MGI concurs with the court's ruling that Illumina's European Patent (EP) 1 828 412 to methods of sequencing by synthesis using ascorbic acid is invalid for obviousness and that MGI's CoolMPS sequencing method does NOT infringe this patent, and also the finding that MGI's CoolMPS sequencing does NOT infringe the EP 2 021 415 to a linker and rhodamine dye combination.

"We welcome the decision of the Court to invalidate the '412 patent of Illumina," says the Legal head of MGI, "'412 patent discloses a method using ascorbic acid as a component of image buffer. Illumina also alleged this patent in Switzerland, Sweden and its equivalent in the US. We firmly assure that this ruling will bring positive impact on those litigations."

However, MGI is disappointed with the rulings on other mentioned patents. MGI continues to firmly believe that these patents are invalid and/or not infringed by MGI's proprietary CoolMPS and StandMPS technologies and will immediately seek permission to appeal the decision.

MGI advocates fair competition and an open environment for innovation and opposes the abuse of patent litigation to maintain market monopoly and suppress industry development.

"In particular at this critical moment in the worldwide efforts to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, MGI will do our utmost to protect our rights and interests, as well as the interests of our customers, research collaborators and business partners." the Legal head of MGI further comments.

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

"It should be noted that our advanced laboratory automation equipment is not affected by this lawsuit in any way," he says, "and will continue to be used to support the prevention and control of the epidemic in the United Kingdom and to assist relevant local organizations to improve the efficiency of COVID-19 nucleic acid testing."

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.

SOURCE MGI