Guardant Health Inc. (NASDAQ: GH) said it will appeal a U.S. court ruling that defined the scope of potential patent royalties related to cancer detection tests, disputing the decision while asserting confidence in its intellectual property.
The company, which develops blood and tissue-based cancer diagnostics, confirmed the appeal after a Delaware district court order was issued on Friday. The ruling limited potential royalties to products existing at the time of a 2023 trial, explicitly excluding current versions of Guardant Reveal and Shield tests from liability. Guardant noted that design improvements in its Guardant360 product and associated services had been validated to mitigate ongoing royalty exposure.
Enforcement of the final judgment and any royalty collection will remain suspended during the appeal process, the company stated. Guardant also highlighted that two patents held by TwinStrand Biosciences Inc., a party in the case, were preliminarily invalidated in ongoing challenges before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The dispute centers on patents related to next-generation sequencing technologies used in cancer detection. Guardant’s shares closed at $170.69 on August 21, up 2.81 points, or 1.67%, following the ruling. The company has filed additional remedies before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
John Saia, Guardant’s general counsel, said the company "strongly disagrees" with the decision and will pursue an immediate appeal to reverse it. "We have full confidence in the strength and merits of our intellectual property and R&D efforts and are confident we will prevail on appeal," he stated.
The case involves Guardant Health, TwinStrand Biosciences, and the University of Washington, with proceedings taking place in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
