The judgment finds willful infringement of sequencing technology and applies to 11 products, including Guardant360 and Shield.
The US District Court for the District of Delaware entered a final judgment on Aug 21, 2026, in favor of TwinStrand Biosciences and the University of Washington in their patent infringement suit against Guardant Health. The court awarded more than $245.2 million in damages, accrued royalties, and interest for infringement that occurred through May 31, 2026.
The judgment upholds a November 2023 jury verdict finding that Guardant Health willfully infringed two patents, US Patent Nos 10,287,631 and 10,760,127, which underlie TwinStrand’s Duplex Sequencing technology. The total award includes $83.4 million in damages for infringement through June 2023, $19.5 million in supplemental damages for sales through Feb 5, 2024, $119.4 million in royalties for sales through May 2026, and $22.9 million in interest.
Ongoing Royalties and Affected Products
The court ordered Guardant Health to pay a 6% royalty on future sales of 11 covered products and services through the expiration of the patents on March 15, 2033. The royalty-bearing products include the Guardant360 Lab Developed Test, Guardant360 CDx, Guardant Reveal, and Guardant Shield.
“Duplex Sequencing solved an accuracy problem the sequencing field had worked on for years, and this judgment affirms the jury’s finding that Guardant Health built products on that invention without a license,” says Chad Waite, chair of the TwinStrand board of directors, in a release.
Under the judgment, Guardant Health must also provide TwinStrand and the University of Washington with a quarterly accounting of all US sales for the 11 identified products.
Guardant Health to Appeal
Guardant Health announced it will appeal the final judgment and stated that the execution of the judgment and collection of potential royalties are stayed pending that appeal. The company claims that current versions of Guardant Reveal and Shield are excluded from the order because they have been significantly upgraded since the 2023 trial.
Additionally, Guardant Health states it has validated design improvements to Guardant360 and related services that would exclude them from the impact of ongoing royalties.
“We strongly disagree with this decision and will promptly be appealing for its overturn,” says John Saia, Guardant Health chief legal officer, in a release. “We have full faith in the strengths and merits of Guardant’s intellectual property and R&D and are confident we will ultimately prevail on appeal.”
Guardant Health is also pursuing appeals before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and continues to challenge the patents before the US Patent and Trademark Office.
