UK biotech Oxford Nanopore has filed a lawsuit against Chinese biotech BGI over the misuse of confidential information.
Both companies develop gene sequencing tech and the case centres around claims that BGI used trade secrets from Oxford Nanopore to develop its technology.
The lawsuit was filed in London last Thursday, records accessed via Caseboard show. Oxford Nanopore told its investors in September that it planned to bring a legal claim against BGI.
At the time, Oxford Nanopore said it planned to claim for a breach of duties under trade secrets regulations. The company said it did not believe BGI's nanopore-based sequencing tech could be used in products without infringing on Oxford Nanopore’s IP.
The case is the latest spat for Shenzhen-headquartered BGI, which is one of the world’s largest genome sequencing companies. In September, the US House of Representatives passed legislation to blacklist the company — the case now goes to the Senate.
BGI is privately owned and has drawn investment from international investors such as the Gates Foundation and VC firm Sequoia, as well credit from the China Development Bank, a state-owned entity.
Oxford Nanopore was founded in 2005 as a spinout from Oxford University. It raised funding from investors including Saul Klein, Amadeus Capital and Woodford Investment Management, before listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2021.
The company sells products, including its DNA sequencer, to research centres, hospitals and other biotech companies. Earlier this month, the UK government announced a collaboration with Oxford Nanopore to track future pandemics.
Oxford Nanopore and BGI declined to comment on the lawsuit.
BGI’s previous spats
BGI is no stranger to controversy.
In March last year, BGI was accused by a UK minister of trying to hack Genomics England, a company set up to sequence genomes from NHS patients with cancer or rare diseases. The accusation was quickly rescinded.
George Freeman, the UK’s then science minister, told parliament that BGI was a “danger point in the ecosystem” of British scientific research.
A few hours later a government spokesperson said there was no evidence of an attempted hacking and Freeman himself later requested the parliamentary record of his statement be amended to reflect that.
“We would like to reiterate that BGI has never been, and will never be, involved in “hack attacks” against anyone,” BGI Group told Sifted. “Any allegation that BGI is a danger to anyone is simply false.”
10th December 2024: This article was updated to reflect that BGI received credit from the China Development Bank.
