Baxter sues B.Braun in revived kidney treatment patent dispute
American healthcare multinational Baxter has accused B.Braun of patent infringement and fraudulent misrepresentation in an on-going dispute over products used to treat acute kidney injury.
Baxter filed its complaint against the German medical device company at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, November 10.
According to the filing, the complaint is a continuation of a patent dispute that the parties resolved in a 2018 settlement agreement.
Baxter manufactures products, including PRISMAFLEX and PrisMAX, that are used to treat acute kidney injury.
In 2017, B.Braun displayed its OMNI product, also used to treat acute kidney injury, at a trade show. In the 2018 lawsuit, Baxter claimed that this device infringed seven of its patents.
In response, B.Braun claimed that the alleged infringement was directed to “uncertain future activities that may or may not occur” because it was unclear if the OMNI device would be cleared for commercial sale and use by the Food and Drugs Administration.
Regardless, the resulting design of the device would “in all likelihood” be different from the one targeted in the complaint, the German company said.
According to last week’s filing, the parties settled the 2018 dispute on the basis of these representations, and the settlement agreement made no provision for the commercial manufacture of OMNI in the US.
However, Baxter has now claimed that “B.Braun negotiated the resolution of the litigation in bad faith”. This took the form “material misrepresentations and omissions regarding B.Braun’s infringing activities in the US related to Baxter’s patents”, the American company added.
Baxter said that Spartronics, an American manufacturing company, is commercially manufacturing the OMNI product in the US on behalf of B.Braun. Spartronics is listed as an infringing party alongside B.Braun in the latest complaint.
“Baxter would not have entered into the settlement agreement as drafted had it been aware of this commercial manufacturing activity in the US,” said the US company, which accused B.Braun of fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation in relation to the 2018 settlement agreement.
In addition, the filing accused B.Braun’s OMNI device of infringing 15 of Baxter’s patents. The patents-in-suit, which were issued between 2004 and 2020, cover devices and methods relating to blood flow, processing, and treatment.
B.Braun’s infringement exposes Baxter to the loss of market leadership and loss of market share relating to the PRISMAFLEX and PrisMAX systems, the complain tclaimed.
Baxter asked the court to determine that rescission of the settlement is warranted as a result of B.Braun’s fraudulent representations, and that B.Braun has infringed the 15 patents-in-suit. The American company is seeking an award of damages for both the infringement and for fraud.
In addition, Baxter has requested that B.Braun and Spartronics are permanently enjoined from infringing the patents and that, as this is an exceptional case, reasonable attorneys’ fees should be awarded.
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