Premaitha Health patent dispute reaches new level

Non-invasive prenatal screening system developer Premaitha Health saw one if its patent disputes reach a new level early on Friday, as its competitor Illumina initiated infringement proceedings against Genoma - one of Premaitha’s customers - in Switzerland.

The AIM-traded firm said it continues to believe that the patents held by Illumina are invalid and, in any case, Premaitha’s IONA test does not infringe them.

"This lawsuit is another blatant attempt to distract people from Illumina's own travails in Europe and is a continuation of its attempts to restrict competition in the European NIPT market,” said Premaitha CEO Dr Stephen Little.

He said the company’s board believes pregnant women should not be denied choice in their decisions for prenatal care.

“We will support our customers against such actions and we remain focused on delivering market-leading prenatal screening to patients around the world,” Dr Little explained.

At 1220 BST, shares in Premaitha Health were down 5.98% at 9.76p.