German Federal Patent Court in Munich has indicated its intention to nullify the German patent DE 693 31 011 (German Kowanko patent) assigned to CryoLife, a biological medical device company that develops implantable biological devices, surgical adhesives and biomaterials for use in cardiac, vascular and spinal reconstruction for patients of all ages.
This is the German part of the European Patent 0 650 512 and is key intellectual property relating to the BioGlue Surgical Adhesive which is marketed worldwide by CryoLife.
ArterX vascular sealant is a prophylactic agent that seals anastomotic suture lines in seconds. The sealant quickly sets into a soft gel that contains a cross-linking agent to effectively seal grafts. It exhibits a high degree of efficacy as shown in European clinical trials.
Ronald Dieck, president and chief executive officer of Tenaxis Medical, said: “We have always believed our intellectual property protection to be strong and we elected to initiate a nullity action in Germany to reinforce our position in this field and maximize the value of our own portfolio.
“In our review it became clear that the German Kowanko patent was not a valid patent. This assessment will be supported by the upcoming written decision of the Federal Patent Court in Munich, which has indicated that they will nullify the patent. In addition, we are confident that the Court’s decision will lead to the stay of the patent infringement action brought by CryoLife, against Tenaxis Medical’s product ArterX Vascular Sealant before the Duesseldorf District Court in Germany, pending the outcome of any appeal by CryoLife against the decision of the Federal Patent Court.”