Roche, Applied Biosystems settle litigation with Bio-Rad Laboratories

By Lisa Kerner

Erie, Pa., Feb. 13 - Roche Molecular Diagnostics and Applied Biosystems, an Applera Corp. business, announced that they have entered into a settlement agreement resolving their lawsuit against MJ Research (acquired by Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. in 2004), pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

As a result, Bio-Rad will pay Roche Diagnostics and Applera to settle the outstanding claims. The District Court rejected all challenges to the enforceability of Roche's PCR patents and the licensing program, according to a company news release.

Roche and Applera originally filed the patent infringement suit in June 1998 against MJ Research relating to PCR technology, a development in the field of biotechnology.

Because MJ Research's patent infringement was found to be willful, the court doubled the damages originally awarded by a jury to Roche and Applied Biosystems.

"We are very pleased with this settlement," Roche chief executive officer Heiner Dreismann said in the release. "Bio-Rad is an important licensee of our PCR technology and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them."

Roche provides products and services for the early detection, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, including cancer, transplantation and virology. The company has its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland.

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