US judge rejects $45 mln award to CareDx in Natera false ads case

CareDx

18/07/2023 15:58

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      Damages evidence presented at trial was insufficient,
judge said
    

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      Court upholds verdict that Natera was liable for false ads
    

  
    By Blake Brittain
       (Reuters) - A Delaware federal judge on Monday threw out
a $45 million damages award for genetic testing company CareDx
 CDNA.O  in a false-advertising case against rival Natera
 NTRA.O .
    U.S. District Judge Colm Connolly said the jury award was
unjustified because there was no evidence that Natera's
allegedly misleading advertisements about its Prospera tests for
kidney-transplant patients deceived customers.
    Connolly upheld the jury's holding that Natera was liable
for false advertising, rejecting Natera's challenge to the
jury's findings that its ads were literally false.
    CareDx said in a statement on Monday that it intends to
appeal Connolly's ruling on damages, but applauded his decision
to uphold the false-advertising verdict.
    Natera described the decision as a victory in a statement on
Monday.
    CareDx alleged in 2019 that Natera used the results of a
flawed clinical trial to make misleading statements about the
effectiveness of Prospera, a test used to assess the risk that a
person's body will reject a kidney transplant. CareDx said
Natera misused the results to falsely advertise that its test
was more effective than CareDx's competing AlloSure test.
    The case had spun off from a related patent lawsuit that
CareDx filed against Natera the same year.
    A jury awarded CareDx $44.9 million on its false advertising
and unfair competition claims last year. But Connolly said on
Monday that the damages evidence presented at the trial was
insufficient, calling testimony that CareDx cited to support the
award "vague, conclusory, and hearsay-riddled."
    Connolly also threw out the jury's decision that Natera
competed with CareDx unfairly.
            
    The case is CareDx Inc v. Natera Inc, U.S. District Court
for the District of Delaware, No. 1:19-cv-00662.
    For CareDx: Ed Reines of Weil, Gotshal & Manges
    For Natera: Kristen Achterhof, Christina Costley and Bruce
Vanyo of Katten Muchin Rosenman
    
    Read more:
    CareDx wins $45 mln verdict against Natera for false
advertising
    CareDx adds false advertising claims to patent dispute with
Natera
    Diagnostics firm Natera hit with patent case over kidney
transplant test

 (Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)
 ((blake.brittain@tr.com; +1 (202) 938-5713;))