OrbusNeich Medical accuses Boston Scientific ($BSX) of using a U.K. subsidiary to circumvent a preliminary court injunction in Germany that prevented the sale of some of its stents at the center of a patent dispute between the two companies.
In pursuing its case, OrbusNeich went so far as to obtain a second preliminary injunction from Dusseldorf Regional Court in Germany to address a loophole left by the first one that may have allowed the practice to take place. The company, whose headquarters are in Hong Kong, also wants the court to penalize Boston Scientific for the alleged violations.
Boston Scientific did not respond at deadline to an email request for comment. But the company previously said it does not believe its products infringe on OrbusNeich patents, that it would appeal the injunction, and it would "abide by the German court's rulings."
But OrbusNeich alleges Boston Scientific did not "abide" by anything. The company claims that Boston Scientific continued to distribute, market and sell the disputed Promus Element Plus, Promus Premier, Omega, Taxus Element and Synergy stent models in Germany through its U.K. arm, following the April injunction.
"The company then sent a letter to its German customers advising them of the injunction and announcing that the infringing products could be ordered from Boston Scientific U.K.," OrbusNeich alleges. "Rather than respecting the injunction, Boston Scientific immediately took steps to circumvent it."
OrbusNeich is also fighting its patent battle in Ireland and the Netherlands. And it is already backed by the European Patent Office, which granted a favorable ruling over one of the disputed patents, affecting both Boston Scientific and commercialization partner Terumo.
If the allegations against Boston Scientific are true, it shows the company, which is struggling to reverse years of declining revenue, will fight shrewdly to avoid defeat.
- read OrbusNeich's release