Latham, New York-based AngioDynamics alleges that E2 infringes on patents for its AngioVac and AlphaVac blood clot removal systems.
AngioVac and AlphaVac, two FDA-approved thrombectomy systems, work to remove blood clots (thrombi and emboli) from veins. The company said in its legal filing that, while its technology is broadly applicable to a range of blood clot-related diseases, it primarily specializes in pulmonary embolism (PE).
The technology utilizes catheters inserted through small incisions in the skin to access the blood stream and remove clots. They use vacuum technology through the catheter with an expandable funnel at its distal end. The funnel expands once it reaches the targeted area, providing a larger area for sucking out the blood clot via aspiration.
E2, meanwhile, develops the FDA-cleared Hēlo thrombectomy platform for treating PE. Its technology features a patented dual-action mechanism that integrates aspiration with mechanical clot disruption. Using a small-profile catheter, the system delivers large-bore performance to enable efficient single-pass procedures. The company recently closed an $80 million Series C to support the technology.
The allegations from AngioDynamics
AngioDynamics alleges that Hēlo utilizes a vacuum catheter with a self-expanding funnel tip, infringing on its own thrombectomy technology. The company says it alerted E2 of its alleged infringement via a series of letters. It claims E2’s responses included “deflections, obfuscations and delay” while it accelerates commercial activity.
Specifically, AngioDynamics cites E2’s latest fundraising, saying the company has ramped up hiring ahead of marketing efforts for Hēlo. It says the company is using the cash infusion to “market and sell its infringing product.”
AngioDynamics called E2 a “startup whose business model depends on the brazen and willful infringement of Angio’s patented technology.”
Company statement
An AngioDynamics spokesperson shared the following statement with MassDevice via email:
“We have filed the lawsuit to protect our intellectual property rights related to the AngioVac and AlphaVac systems, FDA-approved thrombectomy systems that incorporate innovations that drastically improve how blood clots are removed from the body and reflect AngioDynamics’s commitment to advancing the art and science of minimally invasive medical technology.
“The decision to take this legal action was not pursued lightly. In this situation, we determined that protecting our innovations embodied in our products and significant investments relating to the development and commercialization of the company’s technology was necessary.
“The innovations we develop are intended to improve the care for patients and support the clinicians who treat them. Protecting the intellectual property behind that work helps ensure that those investments continue – and that we can keep pushing forward with the next generation of technologies that support clinicians and improve patient care.”
