MGI makes the following statement in response to Illumina’s patent litigation in the UK and Sweden:

We believe these claims have no merit and are typical Illumina tactics intended to maintain a monopolistic market position and prevent choice from being offered to customers. We intend to vigorously defend ourselves, as we have in other jurisdictions.

The European Patent Office recently revoked three of Illumina’s DNA sequencing patents, and the Federal Trade Commission blocked Illumina’s proposed acquisition of Pacific Biosciences, alleging in a complaint that Illumina is seeking to unlawfully maintain its monopoly in the U.S. market for next-generation DNA sequencing systems.

MGI, a subsidiary of global genomics leader BGI Group, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-throughput DNA sequencers. MGI has a robust patent portfolio in the field of gene sequencing and is committed to protecting its intellectual property assets on a global scale.

In September 2019, Complete Genomics, a U.S. affiliate of MGI, filed a patent infringement counterclaim against Illumina in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuit alleges infringement of MGI’s proprietary Patterned Array technology (U.S. Patent No. 9,944,984), seeking damages and an injunction which would require Illumina to stop selling the infringing products and provide infringement compensation.

In May 2019, Complete Genomics sued Illumina in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging infringement of Complete Genomics’ two-color sequencing technology patent (U.S. Patent No. 9,222,132), which involves various Illumina genetic sequencers and related reagents.