Seer wins EPO patent ruling and secures ITC probe into Nanomics
Seer, Inc. has secured two intellectual property victories within days of each other, strengthening its legal grip on the nanoparticle-based protein enrichment technology that underpins its Proteograph Product Suite.
On 25 June 2026, the European Patent Office concluded proceedings on EP4056263, an opposition lodged by an unnamed party that sought to revoke the patent entirely. The EPO ruled that the patent will be maintained, preserving claims broadly covering particle-based enrichment for proteomics applications. A written decision is expected within approximately two months. The patent is owned by The Brigham and Women's Hospital, which holds it under an exclusive licence arrangement with Seer.
Four days later, on 29 June, the US International Trade Commission formally instituted an investigation into Nanomics Biotechnology Co., Ltd., a move that followed a complaint Seer originally filed on 28 May 2026 and supplemented on 12 June. The ITC proceeded despite Nanomics having requested on 10 June that the Commission decline to open the case. Seer is seeking a limited exclusion order that would bar the import and sale of Nanomics' Proteonano kits and workstations in the United States. Brigham and Women's Hospital has joined the ITC action as co-complainant.
The ITC investigation runs in parallel with a federal district court patent infringement suit Seer filed against Nanomics on 12 May 2026.
Building IP record
Omid Farokhzad, chair and chief executive of Seer, said the outcomes send a clear signal. "We pioneered this field and built the foundational intellectual property that underpins it," he said. "These actions underscore the strength of our IP portfolio and make clear that we will vigorously defend our innovations and protect the technology our customers depend on."
The two rulings follow an earlier win for Seer in March 2026, when the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board issued a final written decision in an inter partes review upholding key claims of US Patent No. 11,435,360. Across its full estate, Seer holds more than 250 patent applications and issued patents, including 84 granted patents worldwide, a substantial portion of which protect the Proteograph platform.
Market context
The proteomics instrumentation market has grown markedly more competitive as the field moves from niche academic research tool toward large-scale clinical and translational studies. Seer's Proteograph approach, which uses engineered nanoparticles to enrich low-abundance proteins and dramatically expand the detectable proteome, competes with mass spectrometry-centric workflows from established players as well as a growing number of newer entrants developing their own sample-preparation technologies.
IP position is consequently becoming a differentiating factor in the sector, not merely a defensive exercise. Investors in proteomics platforms have increasingly scrutinised patent estates since several high-profile disputes in adjacent omics fields demonstrated that foundational technology patents can shape commercial access to entire market segments. The ITC route, which Seer is pursuing alongside the federal court case, is notable because an exclusion order, if granted, operates at the border and can be more immediately disruptive to a competitor's commercial operations than a district court injunction alone.
The next milestones to watch are the EPO's written decision in roughly two months, the early procedural schedule in the ITC investigation, and any development in the parallel federal case. Investors will also look for Seer to disclose whether additional parties are in its sights or whether the current actions against Nanomics represent the full scope of its enforcement programme.