EC’s Investigation of Illumina for anticompetitive conduct

Demonstrating that life goes on outside of Brexit, the European Commission has opened an investigation into Illumina and Sequenom for suspected anti-competitive conduct.

The Commission will investigate suspected breaches of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, stemming from Illumina’s and Sequenom’s patent pool agreement concluded in December 2014 relating to non-invasive prenatal testing patents (“NIPT”).

The agreement allowed Illumina to develop and sell in vitro diagnostic kits for NIPT and enter into licensing agreements with third parties willing to develop their own laboratory-developed tests. The agreement settled the ongoing patent disputes between the two parties and resulted in Sequenom receiving $50 million upfront and royalty payments on sales from the patent pool structure until 2020.

The information on the Commission’s investigation emerged during a Case Management Conference in UK litigation, when Premaitha Health, itself involved in litigation with Illumina in relation to NIPT-related intellectual property, referred to a communication from the Commission regarding this investigation. The Commission is believed to be looking into, on one hand, whether the 2014 agreement constitutes a restrictive agreement and gives rise to abuse of a dominant position, and on the other, whether Illumina’s licensing practices have an anti-competitive effect.

This investigation will be a rare opportunity for the Commission to give a decision in relation to patent pools, an area in which it has previously issued guidance (for instance in the rules for the assessment of technology transfer agreements (adopted on 21 March 2014 here)).

This case is also indicative of a growing trend for patent pools in the life sciences sector. This model of licensing has traditionally been more widespread in the TMT sector. Perhaps a sign that the FRAND wars (on which we reported earlier this week) may in future spread beyond the world of telecommunications…