Smith & Nephew, Europe’s largest maker of shoulder and knee implants, has been awarded $85 million after a federal jury found Arthrex Inc. infringed the company’s patent on surgical anchors.
The jury in Portland, Ore., found that Arthrex’s Bio-SutureTak, Peek SutureTak, PushLock and Bio-PushLock violated the patent rights of London-based Smith & Nephew. The devices are anchored to a bone to repair tears in the rotator cuff or in the labrum, a fibrous ring in the shoulder socket.
The case has gone before a jury three times, which began in 2004. The first ended in a mistrial. The second resulted in a $14.7 million award against Arthrex that was overturned by an appeals court.
The Litigation Group was involved on the last two trials. “We are very pleased with the outcome of the case,” said Mark Gerard, president of The Litigation Group.
