AUBURN, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Syntrix Biosystems, Inc., is pleased to announce that a federal court in Tacoma, Washington, has granted the company a final judgment of $115 million in a patent infringement case it filed against Illumina, Inc., a San Diego-based biotechnology firm. The Court’s judgment was filed on June 19, 2013, and follows a $96 million jury verdict in favor of Syntrix Biosystems. The jury’s verdict is the largest patent verdict in Washington state history and is likely to be one of the largest in the nation this year.
The jury rendered its verdict on March 15, 2013, after an 11-day trial focusing on U.S. Patent No. 6,951,682 (“the ’682 patent”), which covers synthetic matrix and array technology invented by the founder and president of Syntrix Biosystems, John A. Zebala, MD, PhD. The jury found that Illumina infringed the ’682 patent and ordered the defendant to pay $96 million in damages related to the “BeadChip” products it marketed from 2005 through May 2012.
After the jury rendered its verdict, the Court ordered additional damages in connection with infringing sales made by Illumina from May 2012 through the date of the verdict. The Court also ordered payment of prejudgment interest from 2005, bringing the total judgment against Illumina to $115 million. Finally, the Court ordered Illumina to pay Syntrix Biosystems an ongoing royalty of eight percent for continued sales of infringing products, a full two percent higher than the royalty found by the jury.
The term of the ’682 patent extends to October 2019.
“We deeply appreciate the time and attention the jurors and the Court gave to hearing this case,” said Zebala. “Today’s judgment by the Court confirms the jury's unanimous verdict. The protection of new discoveries is embodied directly in the fabric of the U.S. Constitution and is therefore inherently American. Our legal action was a hard-fought battle every step of the way, as we insisted that the rights of the individual inventor be fully protected. It should be clear to Illumina and others that the willful disregard of valid intellectual property is unacceptable in the United States. We are thankful for the great work by our legal team at Nix, Patterson & Roach LLP and Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, which helped us achieve this victory.”
Syntrix Biosystems was represented at trial by attorneys with the law firms of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, Nix, Patterson & Roach LLP, and Foster Pepper PLLC. The company’s case against Illumina was styled Syntrix Biosystems, Inc. v. Illumina, Inc., Cause No. C10-5870 BHS (W.D. Wash.).
About Syntrix Biosystems, Inc.
Syntrix Biosystems, Inc., is a private, Washington-based biotechnology company dedicated to developing and commercializing therapeutic compounds and research platforms for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and research markets. Since its inception, Syntrix Biosystems has been awarded nearly $25 million from the National Institutes of Health in support of its development efforts. For further information, see SyntrixBio.com.