CareDx owes Natera $96 mln in genetic-testing patent case

Jan 29 (Reuters) - A jury in Delaware federal court has awarded genetic-testing company Natera (NTRA.O),  more than $96.3 million in damages after finding that rival CareDx's (CDNA.O), AlloSure and AlloSeq kidney-transplant tests infringe a Natera patent, according to a verdict made public on Monday.

The jury determined, that Natera was entitled to more than $83.6 million in lost profits and $12.6 million in royalties from CareDx. The Friday verdict came after the same jury concluded earlier in the day that CareDx had infringed one of Natera's two patents at issue in the case.

CareDx said in a court filing that Natera had sought more than $149 million in lost-profit damages.

Austin, Texas-based Natera said in a statement on Monday that it was pleased with the verdict. CareDx said earlier that it plans to appeal and that the verdict would not affect the availability of the company's tests.

Natera had accused CareDx of infringing patents related to the use of cell-free DNA to assess the risk that a person's body will reject a kidney transplant.

Brisbane, California-based CareDx won a $45 million jury award against Natera for false advertising in a related case in 2022. A Delaware judge threw out the award last year, though he affirmed that Natera had falsely advertised that its competing Prospera tests were more effective than AlloSure.

The U.S. Supreme Court last year rejected CareDx's bid to revive patents that it had accused Natera of infringing in a separate case.

The case is Natera Inc v. CareDx Inc, U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, No. 1:20-cv-00038.