UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 8-K

 

 

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): February 22, 2012

 

 

SEQUENOM, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

 

 

DELAWARE   000-29101   77-0365889

(State or Other Jurisdiction

of Incorporation)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

3595 JOHN HOPKINS COURT

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA 92121

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(858) 202-9000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

N/A

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

 

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 

¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

 

 


Item 8.01. Other Events.

On February 22, 2012, we and our wholly-owned subsidiary Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine, LLC (“Sequenom CMM”) were named as defendants in a complaint filed by plaintiffs Verinata Health, Inc. (“Verinata”) and The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (“Stanford”) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. In the complaint (i) Verinata seeks a judicial declaration that activities related to its non-invasive prenatal test using cell-free DNA circulating in the blood of a pregnant woman do not directly or indirectly infringe any claim of U.S. Patent No. 6,258,540 entitled Non-Invasive Prenatal Diagnosis (the “540 Patent”), which we have exclusively in-licensed from Isis Innovation Limited, (ii) Verinata seeks a judicial declaration that each claim of the 540 Patent is invalid for failure to comply with the requirements of the patent laws of the United States, and (iii) Verinata and Stanford allege that we and Sequenom CMM, by performing its non-invasive prenatal MaterniT21™ laboratory developed test, have and continue to directly infringe U.S. Patent No. 8,008,018 entitled Determination of Fetal Aneuploidies by Massively Parallel DNA Sequencing and U.S. Patent No. 7,888,017 entitled Non-invasive Fetal Genetic Screening by Digital Analysis, each of which have been exclusively licensed to Verinata by Stanford. We intend to vigorously defend against the judicial declarations sought and allegations of infringement set forth in the complaint.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for historical information contained in this current report, the matters set forth in this current report, including statements related to the defense of the litigation described in this current report and any potential results of such litigation, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the risks and uncertainties (i) that the litigation may result in significant costs and expenses and could divert management’s attention and resources, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, (ii) that we may not be successful in defending against these claims, and (iii) that if we were not successful in defending against these claims, our and Sequenom CMM’s ability to commercialize certain diagnostic tests and laboratory developed tests, may be adversely affected, which would have a material adverse affect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations, and other risks and uncertainties described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and subsequent filings. These forward-looking statements are based on current information that is likely to change and speak only as of the date hereof. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this current report. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and we undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the issuance of this current report.

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

    SEQUENOM, INC.
Date: February 24, 2012     By:  

/s/ Clarke Neumann

      Clarke Neumann
      Vice President and General Counsel

 

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