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EU: EC is investigating Illumina for anticompetitive conduct

By  |  July 6, 2016

UK-based Premaitha Health said this week that the European Commission’s competition department is investigating Illumina and Sequenom for potential anticompetitive conduct regarding their noninvasive prenatal testing patents.

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    Premaitha, based in Manchester, said that during a case management conference held in the UK last Friday in conjunction with its ongoing litigation with Illumina on NIPT-related intellectual property, it told the English Court that the European Commission had contacted it about an investigation the commission had opened into Illumina’s and Sequenom’s conduct.

    Premaitha said it understands that the commission is investigating whether the creation of Illumina’s and Sequenom’s patent pool agreement in 2014 and its actions since then infringe articles 101 and 102 of EU competition law, which prohibit restrictive agreements and the abuse of a dominant position, respectively. In addition, Premaitha said, it believes that the commission is looking into Illumina’s licensing practices and whether they raise competition law concerns.

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