US biotech company 10x Genomics has been granted a preliminary injunction that prevents a competitor NanoString Technologies from selling products in 17 EU countries in a landmark ruling by the local division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) in Munich.

Dr Julia Traumann and Emmanuel Gougé of Pinsent Masons said the ruling, where 10x Genomics successfully asserted patent rights against NanoString Technologies, is significant for a number of reasons: including because it is the first decision of the UPC in a case concerning a European patent with unitary effect – a so-called unitary patent – from the life sciences sector, and because the case was the first in which a division of the UPC had considered a preliminary injunction application in a substantive hearing involving both parties.

Traumann, who attended the hearing in the case, said: “As the first judgment in a life sciences litigation case to be handed down by the UPC, this case serves as the first, and impressive, example for the operating and decision making of the UPC in life sciences litigation cases. The judgement sets the standard for and future expectations of what is a new and untested court system. Put simply, it could pave the way for a coherent, efficient, and progressive approach to handling patent cases. Now we are off the starting blocks, it is more likely that the UPC could become a global leader in patent litigation.”

The entire report can be read here.