CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vizgen, Inc. (“Vizgen” or the “Company”), a life science leader dedicated to improving human health by visualizing single-cell spatial genomics information, today issued the below open letter to customers and researchers in response to 10x Genomics, Inc. (“10x”) filing a lawsuit on June 1, 2023 with the Unified Patent Court (“UPC”) in Europe.
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June 7, 2023
Dear Customers, Researchers and Friends of Vizgen:
We are disappointed – though not surprised – that 10x has filed another lawsuit that attempts to undermine innovation, eliminate competition and intimidate both customers and industry peers. Although 10x’s UPC complaint is not yet available to us, we will keep you updated as we learn more. In the meantime, rest assured that we will vigorously defend our shared interests in all proceedings with the UPC, much like we have in the ongoing litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
In the Delaware case, we have gone on the offensive to assert our own counterclaims against 10x as well as Harvard due to its conflicted role as licensor to both 10x and Vizgen, among other things.1 We will bring the same approach and level of resources to the proceedings with the UPC, and based on information currently available, we are confident in our ability to operate in the United States, and Europe. It should also be noted that merits and outcomes in the 10x vs. NanoString lawsuits are not applicable to MERSCOPE and bear little relevance to the 10x vs. Vizgen cases in the US or in Europe as MERSCOPE uses an approach that differs in material ways from NanoString CosMx’s approach.
Additionally, we believe it is very unlikely that a court with all relevant information would stop the sale of biomedical products, like MERSCOPE, being used for important research benefiting the public. Our view toward success is reinforced by the fact that the patents in question arose from a public grant that was conditioned on obligations to openly and non-exclusively license that technology to both academic centers and commercial entities, and that Vizgen itself is a Harvard licensee.
At Vizgen, we believe that researchers should have the ability to choose the best technologies that help advance science, discovery, and human health. There have been over 100 peer-reviewed and preprint publications demonstrating the groundbreaking utility and vast potential of MERFISH technology and thousands of biological samples run on MERSCOPE instruments which have contributed to important new discoveries in the life sciences field from human disease to plant biology. We also believe that while intellectual property plays a critical role for innovation, each party must be held accountable to meet certain ethical standards that do not compromise this critical mission for the scientific research community. We look forward to continuing to work with you by offering important products and innovations in the spatial biology field and advancing scientific progress together.
Please reach out with any questions.
All the best,
Terry Lo
President and CEO
About Vizgen
Vizgen is dedicated to pioneering the next generation of genomics, providing tools that demonstrate the possibilities of in situ single-cell spatial genomics, setting the standard for the spatial genomics field. These tools are enabling researchers to gain new insight into the biological systems that govern human health and disease with spatial context. The company’s MERSCOPE Platform enables massively multiplexed, genome-scale nucleic acid imaging with high accuracy and unrivaled detection efficiency at subcellular resolution. MERSCOPE provides transformative insight into a wide range of tissue-scale basic research and translational medicine in oncology, immunology, neuroscience, infectious disease, developmental biology, cell and gene therapy, and is an essential tool for accelerating drug discovery and development. For more information, go to www.vizgen.com. Connect on social media Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
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1 For more detailed information, see https://info.vizgen.com/vizgen-open-letter.
