AbCellera Announces that the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board Upholds Microfluidic Cell Culture Patent

VANCOUVER, British Columbia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AbCellera (Nasdaq: ABCL) today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has ruled in favor of AbCellera in an Inter Partes Review (IPR) filed by Berkeley Lights, Inc. (Berkeley Lights) that challenged AbCellera’s U.S. Patent No. 10,087,408 (the ‘408 Patent). AbCellera’s ‘408 Patent is directed to microfluidic devices and using such devices to culture cells, monitor a response, and recover selected cells.

The IPR proceeding stems from AbCellera and the University of British Columbia (UBC) suing Berkeley Lights for patent infringement currently pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. In response to AbCellera’s infringement claims, Berkeley Lights filed three separate petitions with the PTAB seeking to invalidate multiple patents. The PTAB previously rejected two of Berkeley Lights’ petitions, disagreeing that certain challenged claims were invalid. Berkeley Lights challenged the claims of the ‘408 Patent alleging invalidity based on anticipation and obviousness over the prior art. In response to claims against the ‘408 patent, AbCellera and UBC opposed institution and after oral argument, the PTAB rejected all of Berkeley Lights’ arguments and confirmed that all claims of AbCellera’s ‘408 Patent are valid.

“We are pleased with the PTAB’s decision, which reinforces the validity and strength of our microfluidic cell culture system patent claims,” said Tryn Stimart, JD, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer of AbCellera. “Going forward, we will continue to vigorously defend our intellectual property portfolio. With the IPR outcomes, AbCellera intends to request that the district court resume its patent infringement cases against Berkeley Lights.”

About AbCellera Biologics Inc.

AbCellera is a technology company that searches, decodes, and analyzes natural immune systems to find antibodies that its partners can develop into drugs to prevent and treat disease. AbCellera partners with drug developers of all sizes, from large pharmaceutical to small biotechnology companies, empowering them to move quickly, reduce costs, and tackle the toughest problems in drug development. For more information, please visit www.abcellera.com.

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Source: AbCellera Biologics Inc.