Supreme Court Declines to Hear Baxter Dialysis Patent Appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Baxter International’s appeal in a patent dispute with German dialysis maker Fresenius Medical Care.

The decision leaves intact a July 2013 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturning a lower court’s $24 million judgment in Baxter’s favor. The appeals court threw out the entire case after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled that the disputed patent was invalid.

Baxter’s appeal to the Supreme Court asked whether judges should defer to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office during a patent infringement case.

Medical device companies like Medtronic had hoped the court would hear the appeal, saying the current system encourages companies to simultaneously sue in court and file a patent challenge with the USPTO.

Baxter’s patent was first challenged by Fresenius in 2003. The company counter-sued and won the 2012 ruling requiring Fresenius to compensate for infringement.

Fresenius welcomed the high court’s decision. “We have always known that trying to claim that it’s an invention to merely add a touch screen to a dialysis machine was absurd, and we are pleased that the courts agree,” Ron Kuerbitz, CEO of Fresenius Medical Care North America told Device Daily Bulletin. “We look forward to continuing the business of caring for patients without the distraction of frivolous lawsuits.” — Kellen Owings

Subscribe to Devices & Diagnostics Letter for complete coverage of the medical devices industry. Click here for more information.