U.S. District Court rules in favor of Illumina over Helicos lawsuit

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) announced today that District Judge Sue L. Robinson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware granted Illumina's motion for summary judgment of invalidity of U.S. Patent No. 7,593,109, a patent asserted by Helicos BioSciences Corporation in a lawsuit filed against Illumina in October 2010. Judge Robinson ruled that the '109 patent was invalid for inadequate written description.

The '109 patent was the last remaining patent of three patents originally asserted by Helicos in the lawsuit against certain of Illumina's sequencing products. Earlier this year, after a vigorous defense by Illumina, Helicos voluntarily dismissed with prejudice the two other patents in the suit, and provided Illumina covenants not to sue on those patents with no payment from Illumina.

Jay Flatley, Illumina's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are pleased that the court sided with Illumina in this lawsuit and found that the '109 patent was invalid. The court's ruling on the '109 patent, and Helicos's voluntary dismissal of the other patents in the suit, vindicates our position that we do not infringe any valid Helicos patent. While we respect valid and enforceable intellectual property rights of others, Illumina will continue to vigorously defend against unfounded claims of infringement."