Medtech firms clash over reverse shoulder surgery tech
US medical device company alleges Catalyst Orthoscience infringed patent through reverse shoulder surgery system | Firm seeks to enforce a patent granted in October last year.
Michigan-based medical device company Shoulder Innovations has sued rival Catalyst Orthoscience for allegedly infringing patented technology used in shoulder replacement surgery.
The complaint, filed at the US District Court for the District of Delaware yesterday (February 28), sought to assert US patent number 11,771,561 titled “Total Reverse Shoulder Systems and Methods”.
Shoulder Innovations claimed that Florida-based Catalyst infringed at least one claim of the ‘561 patent through the sale of products including the Archer R1 Reverse Shoulder System.
In reverse shoulder replacement surgery, the ball and socket arrangement in the shoulder joint is reversed, which has been found to improve the function of the shoulder muscles and allow greater movement for patients with arthritis and other conditions.
Shoulder Innovations provides what it says is a solution for improving the mechanical stability between the implant and bone in such procedures.
New patent asserted
In the lawsuit, Shoulder Innovations stated that Catalyst Orthoscience had been provided with written notice of its alleged infringement in May 2023, and had knowledge of the ‘561 patent at least as early as the date of the complaint.
The patent was filed in November 2022 and issued on October 3 last year.
“Catalyst knows that the accused products are especially made or especially adapted for use in a manner that infringes the ’561 patent,” Shoulder Innovations claimed.
This constituted “wilful, deliberate, and intentional” infringement, the firm argued.
Catalyst describes its Archer R1 product as “a single-tray arthroplasty system that was designed to combine the most beneficial and evidence-based attributes of reverse shoulder arthroplasty design”.
Shoulder Innovations asked the court for a judgment to include preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, damages and costs.
The case is Shoulder Innovations v Catalyst Orthoscience. Attorneys for Shoulder Innovations are Karen Keller, Nathan Hoeschen, Emily DiBenedetto and Lindsey Gellar of Shaw Keller, with Jon Gurka, Andrew McElligott and Ryan Fitzgerald from Crowell & Moring as of counsel.
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