15 Jan Despite ruling, Third Wave claims advantage in patent suit
Madison, Wis. – Third Wave Technologies has responded to an unfavorable U.S. District Court ruling, saying it disagrees with the court’s granting of a motion for dismissal of anti-trust claims brought against Digene Corp., but claiming victory in the broader dispute over patent infringement.
The ruling was handed down last week by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. “We respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling Friday on our anti-trust claims and are considering our options,” Kevin T. Conroy, president and chief executive of Third Wave, said in a statement released by the company.
The dispute centers on a Digene patent related to the human papillomavirus, or HPV. In January 2007, Digene, which has since been acquired by Qiagen, filed suit against Third Wave alleging that the Madison biotechnology company infringes a single Digene patent related to HPV.
Third Wave, which has completed a clinical trial enrollment of its 14-type high-risk HPV screening and has appointed its first European HPV-product distributors, responded by denying infringement and alleging anti-competitive business practices and anti-trust violations by Digene.
In October 2007, Digene acknowledged that it could not prevail in its patent infringement suit against Third Wave without a successful appeal of the court’s July 2007 Markman order favorable to Third Wave. Digene had unsuccessfully asked the court to reconsider its Markman order in September 2007.
“We are very pleased to have accomplished our top priority in this matter: maintaining Third Wave’s freedom to operate in the valuable HPV testing market,” Conroy said.
Third Wave develops molecular diagnostic reagents for DNA and RNA analysis, including several products that are based on its Invader chemistry for clinical testing.
Upon completion of the clinical trial, Third Wave plans to submit two HPV products, the 14-type high-risk screening test and a genotyping test for types 16 and 18, to the Food and Drug Administration.
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