NEW YORK (360Dx) – I-Med Pharma announced this week it has won a patent case in Canada against TearLab related to the I-Pen Osmolarity System.
In February 2016, TearLab filed suit in the Federal Court of Canada alleging that I-Med Pharma's I-Pen infringed on the Canadian patent for the TearLab Osmolarity System. TearLab sought a permanent injunction to keep the I-Pen off the market, as well as damages, according to I-Med Pharma.
This week, the court invalidated TearLab's patent claims and awarded costs to I-Med Pharma. TearLab said it plans to appeal the ruling.
The court found that TearLab's claims were invalid because a significant number of claims in the patent were not novel, and because the subject matter of each of the claims "would have been obvious to the person skilled in the art at the claimed date of the invention," according a statement by I-Med.
"Rather than compete fairly with us in the marketplace, TearLab commenced a lawsuit seeking to keep us off the market. Today's judgement affirms our right to sell the I-Pen and compete freely in the marketplace," I-Med CEO Daniel Hofmann said.
According to TearLab, though, the court found that I-Pen infringed on the TearLab patent, but specific claims in the patent were deemed by the judge to be invalid.
Also, TearLab reported that it has successfully passed the acceptance review phase for clearance of its TearLab Discovery Platform in-vitro diagnostic testing system with the US Food and Drug Administration, which will now "progress to the substantive review of the filing." If granted FDA clearance, TearLab plans to pursue a CLIA waiver for commercialization of the platform in the US, it said.
TearLab said last month that it had submitted its application to FDA for the TearLab Discovery Platform. The system received CE marking in July.