A British court dealt Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) a blow in its long-running patent infringement war with Kinetic Concepts Inc. (NYSE:KCI), ruling that two of Smith & Nephew’s Renasys negative-pressure wound therapy devices infringe patents owned by KCI.
The ruling, by Judge Richard Arnold of the
Patents Court of the High Court of Justice Chancery Division, applies to patents held in the U.K. for pumps and canisters used by the devices, according to news reports.
It’s the latest round in an ongoing bout over NPWT technology between the British health products conglomerate and San Antonio-based KCI, which have traded punches for years in the dispute. In March, a U.S. jury found that SNN infringed a pair of patents with one of its Renasys products.
At the time, KCI said it planned to seek an injunction "to prevent further infringement by Smith & Nephew."
KCI also won decisions in the U.S. and Australia, while the British conglomerate won decisions in Germany and the United Kingdom over equivalent intellectual property. Following the most recent decision in the U.K., KCI said it expects the British court to hand down an injunction "in the coming weeks."
For its part, Smith & Nephew said is plans to appeal the latest court blow and believes its products do not infringe the KCI patents.
Kinetic Concepts dominates the negative-pressure wound therapy market with its Active Healing Solutions business, according to Zacks Investment Research. Worldwide revenue for the division rose 6 percent during the first quarter, according to the investment services website.
