A court has reduced the damages Natera was awarded in its patent infringement suit against Invitae over minimal residual disease testing technology, according to GenomeWeb. The specific original and revised dollar figures were not disclosed.
The reduction arrives amid a broader resolution of Natera's MRD patent disputes. As BaseCall reported, Natera secured a 30% royalty from Invitae and separately dropped its appeal against NeoGenomics, clearing the way for NeoGenomics to continue marketing its RaDaR assay.
Invitae, which filed for bankruptcy in 2024, is navigating asset sales while operating in diminished capacity. Natera has offered $52.5 million to acquire Invitae's reproductive health screening tests, according to Fierce Biotech. That bid creates an unusual dynamic: Natera is simultaneously a patent adversary collecting royalties from Invitae and a prospective buyer of Invitae's core clinical assets. Invitae also recently extended a $20 million loan agreement.
The reduced damages figure and NeoGenomics settlement suggest Natera is accepting negotiated licensing terms rather than pursuing maximum damages. Competitors including Guardant Health, Tempus, and Personalis—all building or expanding liquid biopsy MRD offerings—will read the resolution as evidence that licensing fees, not litigation risk, are the primary cost of operating in Natera's patent territory.
The next milestone is whether Natera's $52.5 million bid for Invitae's reproductive health assets survives the bankruptcy auction process, which would consolidate the acquirer's position in prenatal screening while eliminating a former rival.