CareDx and Natera Clash in Patent Dispute

CareDx said it has filed a patent infringement suit against Natera in the U.S. District Court for Delaware. The Brisbane, CA-based company said it is asserting U.S. Patent Nos. 9,845,497 and 8,703,652, were exclusively licensed to it from Stanford University.
 
Stanford is joined in the suit as a necessary party because it is the registered owner of these patents. These patents cover non-invasive monitoring of organ transplant rejection through cell-free DNA analysis, the intellectual property behind AlloSure.
 
CareDx  is seeking all available remedies, including damages and injunctive relief. The suit asserts that San Carlos, CA-based Natera infringes through its marketing and performance of a test to analyze cell-free DNA from a transplant patient to inform rejection.
 
CareDx secured an exclusive license to the technology when it acquired ImmunMetrix in 2014.
 
“If intellectual property is disrespected, it is the transplant community that is impacted,” Peter Maag, CEO of CareDx, said in a release. “The intellectual property behind AlloSure was developed with substantial involvement from leading transplant researchers. We are filing this suit to support future innovation in transplantation. We will continue to monitor activities in the transplant field and vigorously defend our intellectual property where appropriate to protect our substantial investments and leadership position.”
 
The lawsuit comes on the heels of a study showing AlloSure’s clinical utility in patients who require repeat kidney transplants.