Guardant Health faces $245M patent verdict

Delaware federal court finalizes a judgment of more than $245.2 million against Guardant Health for willful infringement of TwinStrand Biosciences and University of Washington patents covering Duplex Sequencing, affecting products that comprised about 90% of Guardant’s revenue. The decision imposes a 6% royalty on U.S. sales of 11 Guardant products through March 2033, alongside damages and interest components totaling roughly $245.2 million. The court upheld the November 2023 jury verdict, rejecting Guardant’s bids to overturn or retry, and affirmed the patents’ validity. Affected offerings include Guardant360 CDx, Guardant Reveal, the Shield colorectal cancer screening test, and related services, with quarterly royalty payments continuing until the patents expire. The ruling also requires quarterly accounting reports and maintains the ongoing royalty and interest obligations through 2033, underscoring the IP risk in the liquid-biopsy sector. Investor reaction highlighted the substantial impact on Guardant’s margins and the broader implications for the oncology diagnostics landscape.