In September 2013, ConforMIS, Inc. filed a patent infringement suit against Wright Medical Group, Inc. In January 2014, Wright Medical sold the patents at issue to MicroPort Orthopedics.
Wright Medical Cleans Up ConforMIS Knee and Ankle Patent Suit
1 min read Premium comments
Secondary
ConforMIS alleged that Wright Medical’s Prophecy knee and ankle system infringed on four ConforMIS patents. On April 13, 2015, the companies announced a definitive agreement to settle the lawsuit. The parties had reached an agreement of principle in October 2014 and this announcement memorializes the agreement.
Under the settlement, Wright Medical entered into a license agreement with ConforMIS under which Wright Medical received a “fully paid, perpetual, non-exclusive, worldwide license under ConforMIS’s patent portfolio to make, use and sell patient-specific instrumentation, and any product, device or system that is used in connection with such patient-specific instrumentation, in the foot and ankle, but excluding patient-specific implants. The licensed products include the Prophecy system for use with the Company’s InBone and Infinity total ankle replacement systems.”
In conjunction with the ConforMIS license, Wright Medical also entered into agreement with MicroPort Orthopedics. On behalf of MicroPort, Wright Medical agreed to pay certain expenses, license fees and royalties owed by MicroPort to ConforMIS under a license agreement simultaneously entered into by MicroPort and ConforMIS. Those payments will run through 2016 and are based on sales of MicroPort’s Prophecy patient-specific instrumentation system for use with the Advance and Evolution total knee replacement systems.
React:
Discussion
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.
Join the conversation
Orthopedic professionals are discussing this. Sign in and upgrade to read every comment and add your voice.