
U.S. Patent Office nixes Smith & Nephew patents in spat with Hologic

The Medical Device Business Journal — Medical Device News & Articles | MassDevice
Hologic Inc. (NSDQ:HOLX) acquired Interlace Medical Inc. and its minimally invasive fibroid treatment for $125 million, saying it hopes to have Interlace’s MyoSure system on the market early this year.
Smith & Nephew Inc. (NYSE:SNN) hit Interlace Medical Inc. with a lawsuit accusing the Framingham, Mass.-based firm of infringing a patent with its MyoSure hysteroscopy device.
Smith & Nephew, which has operations in Andover, Mass., accused Interlace chief technology officer Ronald Adams, an SNN employee from 2002 to 2006, of bringing the technology with him when he jumped ship for then-startup Interlace. The patent covers an arthroscopic surgical instrument designed to cut semi-rigid tissue.
Interlace Medical Inc. launched a clinical trial of its MyoSure fibroid surgery device, aiming to prove that women experience little pain or discomfort during the procedure.
The Framingham, Mass.-based firm’s myomectomy system is a minimally invasive technique that allows for the removal of submucosal fibroids and polyps in a single, out-patient procedure. Submucosal fibroids are benign tumors that grow just beneath the endometrial lining of the uterus.