Swedish med tech Elekta has been on a downward spiral as of late, facing a series of management changes amid slumping sales. Now, the company is slapping its U.S. archrival, Varian Medical Systems ($VAR), with a patent-infringement suit over cancer-imaging devices, fighting to hold onto proprietary technology as it deals with internal woes.
The Stockholm, Sweden-based company claims Varian's True Beam linear accelerator infringes patents it exclusively licensed from William Beaumont Hospital, Elekta said in a statement. The devicemaker also alleges Varian infringed a number of patents for its linear accelerator imaging system, which provides images of a tumor before treatment, Reuters reports. Elekta filed suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
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| Elekta CEO Tomas Puusepp |
The patent spat comes as the companies fight tooth and nail for a piece of the med tech imaging market. Elekta has a global market share of about 40% and Varian boasts a 50% share, Johan Andersson, Elekta's head of investor relations, told Reuters, setting the stage for a showdown.
But Elekta has more than a few problems on its plate, including weaker-than-expected earnings and the abrupt departure of its CEO. In May, the company announced quarterly net sales that fell by 8% to SEK 10.8 billion--a disappointing figure in light of its projected net sales growth of 4%. The news triggered an executive overhaul, with Tomas Puusepp stepping in as president and CEO and Niklas Savander making a quick exit.
A few weeks later, the company unveiled more changes to its executive team "to adapt to current market conditions and improve growth, profitability and efficiency," Elekta said at the time. The company said it would combine its global sales, marketing and customer support activities with Chief Commercial Officer Ian Alexander at the helm. Elekta also put Chief Operating Officer Johan Sedihn in charge of products and solutions, and named a half-dozen new EVPs to oversee regional and business functions.
Meanwhile, Varian is trying to generate some upward momentum, striking new deals to beef up its portfolio and expand its industry footprint. In March, the company announced it would add up to 100 technical jobs to its Atlanta, GA-based facility to make room for anticipated growth. Last month, Varian said it would team up with Flatiron Health to develop a software platform for cloud-based cancer data analytics products and services, deepening its dive into the Big Data market.
- here's Elekta's statement
- read the Reuters story
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