Context: In January 2026, the UPC’s Paris Local Division (LD) dismissed Guardant Health, Inc.’s application for provisional measures against the Sophia Genetics group, finding that EP3443066 (“Methods for early detection of cancer”) was more likely than not invalid for added matter. It is a unitary patent directed to a method for detecting colorectal, ovarian, lung, or pancreatic cancer by sequencing circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA). It was granted on October 2, 2024, claims priority from April 14 and April 18, 2016, is in force in Switzerland, Spain, and the UK, and has not been opposed. It ordered Guardant to pay Sophia an interim costs award of €400,000 (January 29, 2026 ip fray article). ip fray noted at the time that urgency would likely need to be revisited on appeal, and that this could prove fatal to the injunction request.
To Read The Full Story
Continue reading your article with a Membership
Court and counsel
CoA Panel 2: Presiding Judge Rian Kalden, Judge-rapporteur Patricia Rombach, Judge Ingeborg Simonsson, Technically Qualified Judge Arwed Burrichter, and Technically Qualified Judge Andreas Gustafsson.
Counsel for Guardant: Carpmaels & Ransford LLP’s Agathe Michel-de Cazotte.
Counsel for Sophia: Bristows LLP’s (ip fray firm profile) Liz Cohen, Naoise Gaffney, Rachael Cartwright, Eden Winlow, Florence Plisner, Fariha Chowdhury, and Hannah Rigby.