Sight Sciences has announced a positive trial verdict in a $34m patent infringement case against Alcon and its minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) device, the Hydrus Microstent.
The jury on the case, which Sight Sciences filed in 2021 in the District Court for the District of Delaware, found that Alcon subsidiaries, including Ivantis, which it acquired in 2021, willfully infringed on three of Sight Sciences’ asserted patents.
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The case concerns US Patents Nos. 8,287,482, 9,370,443 and 11,389,328, which describe and claim devices and methods for reducing intraocular pressure in the eye.
Monetary damages in the ruling are comprised of $5.5m in lost profits and $28.5m in royalty damages for sales of the Ivantus-manufactured Hydrus Microstent for the period of its commercial launch through trial.
Sight Sciences co-founder and CEO Paul Badawi said: “Over the past 18 years, we have pioneered various important and proprietary micro-invasive surgical glaucoma methods and devices, including intra-canalicular scaffolding, bladeless goniotomy, ab interno canaloplasty, ab interno trabeculotomy, and combinations of these methods.
“Given the substantial investments we have made in our surgical innovations on behalf of our surgeon customers and glaucoma patients, we believe safeguarding our intellectual property portfolio is paramount, and we are pleased with the jury’s verdict.”
The Food and Drug Administration granted 510(k) clearance for Sight Sciences’ TearCare System and its OMNI surgical system to reduce intraocular pressure in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma in 2021 and 2024 respectively.
GlobalData’s Databook found that Sight Sciences saw the highest growth of 19% in patent filings in October and 99% in grants in November in Q4 2023. Meanwhile, the company’s Market Model methodology determined that Alcon, which spun off from former parent company Novartis in 2019 to become an independent entity, was the leading player in the glaucoma surgery devices market in the US in 2022.
