Appeals court tosses two ConforMIS patents despite settlement with Smith & Nephew

A federal appeals court has upheld U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions invalidating two ConforMIS (NSDQ:CFMS) patents for patient-specific knee implants, even though ConforMIS and Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) settled their dispute last year for $10.5 million.

Bedford, Mass.-based ConforMIS sued the British healthcare giant in 2016 in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, alleging infringement of eight patents by Smith & Nephew’s Visionaire cutting guides. Billed as “custom fit,” the Visionaire guides are used with off-the-shelf S&N implants, including the Journey II, Legion, and Genesis II devices.

In September 2018, ConforMIS said the settlement and license agreement called for the London-based company to pony up $10.5 million and included a “limited patent cross-license,” resolving all patent litigation between the orthopedic firms.

The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.