Smith & Nephew Granted Injunction against Arthrex
BY JOHN MCCORMICK, NOVEMBER 24, 2008
Last week, Smith & Nephew Endoscopy was granted an injunction from a US Federal court barring Arthrex from manufacturing or selling several tacks and suture anchors used in minimally invasive soft tissue repairs. The injunction is due to take effect in two months.
In June, a jury also awarded Smith & Nephew $14.7 million for infringement through the end of 2005.
The disputed patent covers use of Smith & Nephew's BIORAPTOR, TAG WEDGE, and TAG ROD suture anchors, which are mainly used for shoulder repair. Of interest, the actual intellectual property is owned by Dr. John O. Hayhurst of Portland, Oregon and licensed to Smith & Nephew exclusively.
Dr. Hayhurst is considered to be a pioneer in the field of suture anchors and has spent years developing a suite of patents. And he's not afraid to defend them. Nearly ten years ago, Dr. Hayhurst and Smith & Nephew teamed up against Ethicon for similar infringement issues.
The Arthrex products that were found to infringe these patents are: Bio-SutureTak, PEEK SutureTak, and Bio-PushLock and PEEK PushLock suture anchors. The injunction does not affect Arthrex PushLock anchors, however.
This shows that even a low-tech sector of orthopedics such as sports medicine is not immune to intellectual property suits. Of interest, about four years ago Smith and Nephew was on the receiving end of an injuction awarded to ArthroCare (not to be confused with Arthrex). The ultimate outcome was that Smith & Nephew and Arthrocare agreed to a distrubution deal in lieu of going through with the injuction.
Let's see if Smith & Nephew and Arthrex come up with something similar.
