10x Genomics has had a mixed week in court, suffering defeat in an appeal to save three patents while surviving a bid from rival Parse Biosciences to invalidate key claims in three other patents held by 10x.
The latter decision means the two companies are headed to trial next week in a key case for the future of the single-cell sequencing technology market.
In an opinion issued Aug. 19, a three-judge panel from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the invalidation of three patents for single-cell sequencing technology held by 10x Genomics by the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB.)
PTAB invalidated US Patent Nos. 10,155,981; 10,240,197; and 10,697,013 after an inter partes review filed by Parse Biosciences, now part of Qiagen. Parse challenged the patents, all titled “Methods for analyzing nucleic acids from single cells,” following 10x’s allegations of infringement in 2022.
A Parse spokesperson said the company welcomed the decision while a 10x Genomics spokesperson declined to comment.
The Aug. 19 appellate decision closes one of the remaining avenues available to 10x as it seeks to apply pressure to Parse via the legal system. 10x could petition to have its case heard by the US Supreme Court, though it seems unlikely to be taken up.
Yet, the IP war between the single-cell sequencing companies rages on, as Parse was unsuccessful in its bid to knock down key claims of three other patents held by 10x in a different patent infringement suit between the parties.
Judge Christopher Burke of the US District Court for the District of Delaware on Aug. 18 denied a request from Parse for summary judgment to invalidate three single-cell patents acquired by 10x when it bought Scale Biosciences in 2025. Prior to the acquisition, Scale had sued Parse, alleging infringement of four patents.
Parse had already successfully argued for the complete invalidation of one of the patents at suit, in October 2025. More recently, Parse had asked Burke to invalidate certain claims in the other three. However, Burke suggested there was a dispute of material fact that a jury should decide.
The Parse spokesperson declined to comment on this case. A 10x spokesperson said the sides are preparing for a trial next week.
