Letter from Our CEO — February 26, 2024
Dear Customers, Scientists, and Partners
I am pleased to share with you that the European Unified Patent Court (UPC) Court of Appeal has issued a significant decision in favor of NanoString, overturning a preliminary injunction issued by the lower UPC court in September and restoring European customers’ access to the CosMx™ Spatial Molecular Imager (SMI) and related products. The decision allows NanoString to immediately resume sales of CosMx SMI products in 16 UPC member countries in the EU.
We are extremely pleased with the court’s ruling issued by a panel of judges, including technical experts, who sit on the UPC’s highest court. The court’s detailed opinion expressed substantial concerns related to the validity of the patent being asserted by 10x against NanoString in the case. The court noted in its ruling that it is “highly probable that the patent will not prove to be legally valid.”
The court’s decision lifts the preliminary injunction in all 17 UPC member countries in the EU, though, for now, the injunction in Germany remains in place. In a separate decision in December concerning a related patent at issue in the litigation, the German Higher Regional Court of Munich ordered the lifting of the injunction on the sale of CosMx products in Germany, subject to a security bond payment. NanoString is evaluating its next steps in Germany in light of the decision from the UPC and will provide updates to German customers as more information becomes available.
We have maintained from the outset of this case that the patents being asserted by 10x against us are invalid and the UPC Court of Appeal’s ruling is significant validation of our position. It bolsters our confidence that the case will be ultimately be resolved in NanoString’s favor. With this decision, the tide is turning in favor of NanoString and scientific freedom. We will remain steadfast in our mission to invest our resources in innovation as opposed to litigation.
Earlier in February, in an open letter to Genetic Engineering News, leading scientists sounded the alarm on the negative impact that patent litigation is having on the field of spatial biology and called for antitrust action. We will continue to fight this litigation and take the high road in our quest to ensure scientists have the freedom to select the tools they need to further their research and advance innovative therapies for patients.
Thank you for your ongoing support of NanoString. We will keep you posted on future developments in all these cases.
Sincerely,
Brad Gray
President and CEO, NanoString Technologies, Inc.