KFx Medical Corporation has announced the receipt of Notice of Allowance of claims in two additional patent applications broadly covering its AppianFx anchors and anchors for use in knotless double row rotator cuff repair. The new AppianFx line of implants from KFx reattach tissue to bone in shoulder, knee, foot and ankle procedures. This will allow surgeons to directly place and secure tissue into bone both with and without the use of sutures.
KFx Moves Forward With Patents
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“Our patent counsel, Knobbe, Martens, Olson and Bear LLP has done a superb job for us in the prosecution of our patent estate. Once issued these new patents will bring us to 11 issued U.S. patents, 7 pending U.S. applications, 3 issued foreign patents, and 3 pending foreign applications. We are quite pleased with Knobbe’s patent prosecution work, as well as their work on our litigation with Arthrex. Additionally, it is rewarding that our AppianFx which is being received very well in its initial use for biceps repair, received patent protection, ” indicated Tate Scott, president and CEO, in the May 22, 2013 news release.
On August 1, 2011, KFx filed the complaint against Arthrex alleging claims of induced and contributory infringement of United States Patent Number 7, 585, 311. Since that time KFx has been awarded an additional three patents covering knotless double row repair, two of which were added to the suit versus Arthrex. In October 2012 KFx Medical Corporation announced that the United States District Court ruled all six of the six disputed claims in favor of KFx in the Markman Hearing. That case is scheduled to be heard in August 2013 in San Diego.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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