A suit filed against Guardant accuses the medical test-maker of copying technology from AI company Tempus. (iStock.com)
Guardant, the complaint alleged, has "increasingly struggled and suffered setbacks in its product development pipeline."
"Unable to fairly make advances in the marketplace through its own technologies, Guardant has sought to emulate Tempus' success by copying Tempus' technology and unlawfully using Tempus's patented inventions," the complaint said.
Tempus AI said its "groundbreaking" AI-platform enables access to patient records, such as lab test results, to allow medical professionals to better treat cancer.
The suit asserts four patents, two of which cover ways to store data relating to gene sequencing, according to the complaint.
Another Tempus AI patent relates to ways of "identifying biomarkers in a sample of target tissue," and an additional patent covers "methods for generating an overlay map on a digital medical image of a slide," the complaint said.
The suit targets a number of Guardant Health products, such as its Guardant Galaxy and Guardant INFINITY lines. Tempus AI said the products infringe its patents, adding further that "Guardant has a history of disrespecting intellectual property rights and willfully copying others' technology," according to the complaint.
The latest complaint isn't the only legal dispute between the parties.
Last year, Guardant Health filed a suit against Tempus AI in Delaware federal court accusing Tempus AI of infringing five patents.
In the complaint in that case, Guardant Health alleged that "Tempus has capitalized on Guardant's pioneering efforts to develop copy-cat cell-free DNA liquid biopsy tests." Tempus AI has moved to dismiss that lawsuit, but it is still pending, court records showed.
"Guardant Health has a deep history of creating groundbreaking research and innovation," Guardant's Chief Legal Officer John Saia said in a statement. "Tempus' claims are without merit, and we will vigorously defend ourselves against them."
Tempus AI declined to comment.
The patents-in-suit are U.S. Patent Nos. 12,112,839; 11,640,859; 10,957,041; and 10,991,097.
Tempus AI is represented by Kevin P.B. Johnson, Andrew J. Bramhall, Margaret Shyr and Brian P. Biddinger of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.
Counsel information for Guardant Health was not immediately available on Tuesday.
The case is Tempus AI Inc. v. Guardant Health Inc., case number 3:25-cv-00621, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
--Editing by Rich Mills.
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