Open Letter to Customers and Researchers in Ongoing Litigation Against 10x Genomics and Harvard University
January 6, 2025
Dear Customers, Researchers and Friends of Vizgen:
We are writing to provide you with an important update on the ongoing litigation in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. On Friday, it was determined that a number of counterclaims against Harvard for “bad faith”, “dishonest” and “tortious” conduct, as well as counterclaims against 10x Genomics for tortious conduct will proceed to trial, which has been set for February 3, 2025.
The Court’s opinion noted how Vizgen highlighted evidence from which a jury could reasonably conclude that “Harvard supported a continuation-in-part patent application that arguably sealed the deal in terms of putting MERFISH in 10x’s crosshairs,” which was “part of the chain of events that would permit a reasonable jury to find that Harvard consciously took actions that had the effect of destroying or injuring Vizgen’s rights under its license with Harvard and did so with a dishonest purpose.” (italics and bold added for emphasis).
More specifically, a summary judgment issued by the Court this past Friday enables the following matters to be heard next month by a jury:
- The conduct of Harvard, including its Office of Technology Development, and Dr. George Church in obtaining a $20 million grant for genome research, which included promises to offer to license any resulting patents on a reasonable basis (and which Vizgen contends Harvard did not do with respect to Vizgen)
- The conduct of Harvard, including its Office of Technology Development, with respect to hiding those promises from Vizgen when negotiating its original patent license to Vizgen for patents arising out of the lab of Dr. Xiaowei Zhuang, and later before filing the instant lawsuit with 10x Genomics
- Harvard’s conduct, including that of its Office of Technology Development, in licensing both ReadCoor (now 10X Genomics) and Vizgen, and whether its actions deceptively, unfairly, or otherwise illegally destroyed the value the patent license Vizgen obtained from Harvard
- 10x Genomics’ conduct in interfering with Vizgen’s contracts with customers
- The invalidity of the patents from Dr. George Church’s lab licensed by Harvard to 10X Genomics.
- Vizgen’s defenses that neither Harvard nor 10x Genomics can assert their patents against Vizgen, regardless of any arguments Harvard or 10x Genomics raise about the patents’ validity or infringement
In any case, despite the ongoing litigation and our need to defend against baseless attacks and attempts to undermine scientific innovation, Vizgen remains focused on delivering the solutions and support that you rely on. We are steadfast in our belief that science should be collaborative and focused on progress, not distracted by patterns of litigation that could hinder advancement. As highlighted in the February GEN article, “Sounding an Alarm over Spatial Biology” the spatial biology community has tremendous potential to drive advances in human health, but it must avoid becoming entangled in practices that stifle scientific growth.
At Vizgen, we continue to innovate and invest in new ways for you to do more in spatial multi-omics, including in the forms of the newly launched MERSCOPE Ultra, the upcoming MERFISH 2.0 chemistry, and beyond. While the court’s decision acknowledges significant questions about the value and validity of the Church IP, we are proud to note that Vizgen continues to strengthen its own IP portfolio, having recently secured additional US and European Patents.
Thank you for your trust and ongoing support as we remain dedicated to serving you in your science. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.
All the best,
Rob Carson
CEO
Contact
Brittany Auclair
Vizgen
Brittany.auclair@vizgen.com