Applera Initiates Suit Against Solexa Seeking Ownership of Patents Covering Sequencing-by-Ligation Technologies.Not a Suit for Patent Infringement patent infringement n. the manufacture and/or use of an invention or improvement for which someone else owns a patent issued by the government, without obtaining permission of the owner of the patent by contract, license or waiver. ; Not Material to Solexa's Business HAYWARD, Calif. & CAMBRIDGE, England -- Solexa, Inc. (Nasdaq:SLXA) today announced that it has learned of a lawsuit filed in a California state court in Santa Clara County naming Solexa as a defendant. The complaint was filed by the Applied Biosystems Group of Applera Corporation on December 26, 2006. Solexa has not been served with the complaint. The suit relates to the ownership of several patents assigned in 1995 to Solexa's predecessor company, Lynx Therapeutics, by a former employee, Dr. Stephen Macevicz, who is named as a co-defendant in the suit. Lynx was originally a unit of AB and was spun out in 1992. The patents at issue in the suit relate to methods for sequencing DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. using successive rounds of oligonucleotide probe ligation ligation /li·ga·tion/ (li-ga´shun) the application of a ligature. tubal ligation sterilization of the female by constricting, severing, or crushing the uterine tubes. (Sequencing-by-Ligation). Solexa's new 1G Analyzer system uses a different technology, DNA Sequencing-by-Synthesis (SBS See Small Business Server. ), which is not covered not covered Health care adjective Referring to a procedure, test or other health service to which a policy holder or insurance beneficiary is not entitled under the terms of the policy or payment system–eg, Medicare. Cf Covered. by any of the patents at issue in the suit. The MPSS MPSS Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing MPSS Methylprednisolone Sodium Succinate MPSS Multiple Page Size Support MPSS Ministry of Public Safety and Security (Canada) MPSS Mainz Pain Staging System [TM] technology used by Lynx also did not use the methods covered by these patents, and in any event Solexa no longer uses the MPSS technologies. Solexa believes that the suit is not material to its current or future business, and the company has no plans to use any of the Sequencing-by-Ligation technologies covered by the patents at issue in the suit. Applied Biosystems does not assert any claim for patent infringement in the suit. About Solexa Solexa is developing and commercializing the Solexa Genome Analysis System, which will be used to perform a range of analyses including whole genome resequencing, gene expression analysis and small RNA RNA: see nucleic acid. RNA in full ribonucleic acid One of the two main types of nucleic acid (the other being DNA), which functions in cellular protein synthesis in all living cells and replaces DNA as the carrier of genetic analysis. Solexa expects its first-generation instrument, the 1G Genome Analyzer, to generate over a billion bases of DNA sequence DNA sequence Genetics The precise order of bases–A,T,G,C–in a segment of DNA, gene, chromosome, or an entire genome. See Base pair, Base sequence analysis, Chromosome, Gene, Genome. per run and to enable human genome resequencing below $100,000 per sample, making it the first platform to reach this important milestone. Solexa's longer-term goal is to reduce the cost of human re-sequencing to a few thousand dollars for use in a wide range of applications from basic research through clinical diagnostics. For further information, please visit www.solexa.com. This press release contains "forward-looking" statements, including statements related to the current views of Solexa management as to future products, product development, the commercial introduction of the Company's novel genetic analysis technology and the expansion and success of Solexa's commercial application of its genomics technologies. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "predicts," "expects," "envisions," "hopes," "estimates," "intends," "will," "continue," "may," "potential," "should," "confident," "could" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such expectations of any of the forward-looking statements will prove to be correct, and actual results could differ materially from those projected or assumed in the forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the results of Solexa to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements including, among others, risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. for the year ended December 31, 2005 and its Form 10-Q Form 10-Q See 10-Q. for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. Solexa does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion