Dive Brief:
- Guardant Health and Illumina have reached an agreement to settle litigation and extend a long-standing commercial partnership to advance cancer research, Guardant announced last week.
- The three-year agreement includes a joint request to dismiss with prejudice the pending litigation between the companies, including allegations of intellectual property theft.
- In addition, the companies will collaborate by sharing specimen samples and entering into a new long-term purchase and supply commitment, the Palo Alto, California-based cancer test maker said.
Dive Insight:
DNA sequencing company Illumina last year sued Guardant co-CEOs and founders Helmy Eltoukhy and AmirAli Talasaz for breach of contract and alleged misappropriation of trade secrets. The lawsuit accused Eltoukhy and Talasaz of working on technology for Guardant while still employed by Illumina.
Guardant at the time called the lawsuit an attempt to stifle competition and retaliate against the company for registering concerns about the antitrust implications of Illumina’s acquisition of Grail.
Now, the two sides have agreed to put aside their differences.
“This agreement supports getting our transformative technologies to even more patients globally, while strengthening our long-standing and valued partnership with Illumina,” Chris Freeman, chief commercial officer of Guardant, said in a statement.
Illumina faces fines in the EU for closing its $8 billion acquisition of Grail in 2021 before gaining the approval of the European Commission. Illumina is appealing the decision.
The Grail acquisition led to a proxy battle at Illumina that culminated in the ouster of Chair John Thompson in May. CEO Francis deSouza stepped down several weeks later.
Illumina is also appealing an order from the Federal Trade Commission to divest Grail.
