Arthrex lost another bid for an appeal of its $35 million patent infringement loss to orthopedics rival KFx Medical when a federal appeals court declined to revisit the case.
KFx sued Arthrex in August 2011, alleging infringement of its patents by Arthrex’s SutureBridge and SpeedBridge devices for rotator cuff repair and Achilles tendon repair.
In October 2013 a jury found for KFx, awarding $29 million in damages. Judge Dana Sabraw of the U.S. District Court for Southern California later denied an Arthrex motion for a new trial and tacked on another $1.9 million in damages and prejudgment interest of 7%.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in January denied Arthrex’s appeal, prompting the Naples, Fla.-based company to ask the appeals bench for a full, en banc review.
Last week the Federal Circuit denied that bid and issued an April 17 mandate enforcing the ruling.
"This is a victory for patients as it firmly reinforces that new ideas for better patient care can be protected," KFx president & CEO Tate Scott said in prepared remarks. "We applaud the companies who licensed our method for superior double row repair of rotator cuff tears in order to provide better medical care. Simply put, they did the right thing."
Arthrex was on the losing side of another patent battle in March, when a federal appeals court upheld an $85 million victory for Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) in an 11-year-old patent infringement fight over anchors used in shoulder surgeries.
