Jury rules in favor of Natera in patent infringement lawsuit against CareDx

Natera (NTRA) announced that a jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has reached a unanimous verdict in favor of Natera in its patent infringement case against CareDx (CDNA). The jury awarded Natera $83.7M in lost profits and $12.6M in past royalties after finding that the accused CareDx products, AlloSure and AlloSeq, infringe one of the two Natera patents asserted against CareDx, and that all asserted claims of both patents are valid on various grounds. The jury also provided an advisory verdict to the judge that all asserted claims of both patents are valid under 35 U.S.C. Sec. 101. A schedule will be set for further proceedings to determine whether CareDx’s future sales of new versions of AlloSeq and AlloSure also infringe the asserted Natera patents. Previously, Natera successfully invalidated all three of CareDx’s patents that were asserted by CareDx against Natera in a separate lawsuit. The invalidity of CareDx’s patents was affirmed on appeal.