Arthrex yesterday lost its appeal of a $33 million patent infringement loss to KFx Medical after the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s ruling.
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%.
Yesterday the appeals court affirmed Sabraw’s decision without comment, according to court documents.
It’s the latest legal setback for Arthrex, which last October lost a round to Smith & Nephew (FTSE:SN, NYSE:SNN) when the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office confirmed the validity of an SNN patent. In 2013 a federal judge ordered Arthrex to stop selling some of its suture anchors in the U.S.; the company suffered another legal loss inn 2014 when a federal appeals court overturned its $85 million win over the British healthcare giant. Arthrex has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal of that decision.
Smith & Nephew has inked a licensing deal with KFx for some of the products under dispute with Arthrex.
