Premaitha shares soar after ending legal dispute over Down’s syndrome test
Shares in prenatal diagnostics firm Premaitha Health have soared after it settled a three and a half year legal dispute.
The Alternative Investment Market-listed company said it settled a patent dispute with US rival Illumina for its test to estimate the risk of an unborn child having Down's syndrome.
Premaitha has also entered into a licence supply partnership with Illumina and will develop a non-invasive prenatal test using the US firm's technology.
Its share price jumped as high as 19 per cent before closing 12 per cent up for the day at 14.4p.
The London-listed company said it would make a series of settlement payments to Illumina, but estimated it would not amount to more than £1m.
It will also pay Illumina a royalty per sample tested.
Chief executive, Lyn Rees, said: “These agreements mark the end of a three and a half year intellectual property dispute and the beginning of a new era whereby the group, working with Illumina, has the ability to provide non-invasive prenatal testing to meet rapidly growing global demand.”
In November last year Illumina won a patent infringement suit against the UK firm over its IONA test, which can estimate the risk of an unborn child having Down's syndrome, Edward's syndrome and Patau's syndrome.