Edward R. Reines

Edward R. Reines was on a roll. In mid-March 2022 he was part of a Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP team that obtained what one source told him was the largest false advertising jury verdict ever: $44.9 million in damages, including punitive damages, for client CareDX, Inc., a South San Francisco-based genetic testing company.

Reines is co-head of Weil Gotshal’s patent litigation and life sciences practice. His other clients include Illumina, Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Archer DX LLC, HP Inc., LiquidPower Specialty Products Inc. and Guardant Health, Inc. He is a past president of the Federal Circuit Bar Association and its Northern District of California chapter.

In its complaint, CareDx alleged that a rival engaged in a false ad campaign designed both to disparage CareDX’s kidney transplant surveillance diagnostic test and to deceive consumers into believing that the rival’s test is superior. CareDx Inc. v. Natera Inc., 19-662-CFC-CJB (D. Del.,

The jury found there was deliberate false advertising by Natera spanning nine different claims about the performance of its Prospera product for children with organ transplants.

“The jury rightfully found Natera deliberately deceived the organ transplant community,” Reines said. The award included $21.2 million in compensatory damages and $23.7 million in punitive damages. “I believe this is a case where a substantial punitive damage award was warranted—and I’m delighted the jury saw it the same way,” he added.

It was Reines’ third major win in seven months.

The big willful infringement verdict Reines delivered for client Illumina Inc. in November 2021 didn’t just affirm the validity of its patented DNA sequencing technology, the engine of the genomics revolution that has advanced cancer diagnostics.

Beyond the technical details, the November jury verdict in Illumina’s favor halted a Chinese competitor’s billion-dollar plan to launch competing DNA sequencers in the U.S. The outcome was one of The Daily Journal’s top verdicts of 2021. Illumina Inc. et al. v. BGI Genomics Co. Ltd., 3:19-cv-03770 (N.D. Cal., filed June 27, 2019).

“They wanted to sell a me-too product,” Reines said. “Competition is healthy, but infringement is unhealthy.”

Also, Reines in August 2021 won a $4.7 million jury verdict for Archer DX and Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital in a competitor patent infringement dispute. The willful infringement verdict found every question in his client’s favor and awarded even more in damages than requested. The dispute involved DNA/ RNA tests that are helping revolutionize cancer diagnostics and treatment. Archer DX LLS et al., v. Qiagen Sciences LLC et al., 1:18-cv-01019 (D. Del., filed July 10, 2018).

“Those were three verdicts proving intentional wrongdoing,” Reines said. “I have two more trials upcoming and I’m thankful to be busy.”

– John Roemer