Keygene strengthens its Next Generation Sequencing patent licensing program

Today, KeyGene announces that it has further extended its global Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) patent estate. On February 20, 2018, the USPTO granted U.S. Patent Nos. 9,896,721; US 9,898,576; and US 9,898,577, entitled “Strategies for high throughput identification and detection of polymorphisms.” KeyGene’s NGS worldwide patent estate now comprises more than 25 issued patents in the United States alone. These patents protect various methods for sequencing random or targeted fractions of genomes in multiple samples in parallel. Such workflows of Sequence Based Genotyping (SBG) have wide application in medical and agricultural research and diagnostics, ranging from scoring Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers linked to valuable traits in crops and animals to detection of specific mutations associated with human diseases.

KeyGene is committed to offering licenses to interested parties via its global licensing program, which has resulted in research and commercial partnerships with more than 30 companies and academic organizations, underscoring the value of the NGS patent estate. Recently, NuGEN Technologies Inc. of San Carlos (California) filed a Complaint for Declaratory Judgment of non-infringement and invalidity of two KeyGene patents in the USA. NuGEN commercializes two SBG workflows entitled “Ovation® Target Enrichment” and “Allegro Targeted Genotyping”.

KeyGene considers the Complaint to lack any merit. KeyGene further intends to vigorously defend its patents, of which several have been challenged and all upheld. KeyGene stands firm in its commitment to the important area of SBG and mutation detection in the interest of its strategic partners, customers and licensees.