MAKO Announces Enforcement Actions Against Stanmore

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 19, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MAKO Surgical Corp. (Nasdaq: MAKO) today announced that it has filed complaints against Stanmore Implants Worldwide, Ltd. of Elstree, United Kingdom and Stanmore Inc. of Plymouth, Massachusetts with the U.S. International Trade Commission, and the U.S. District Courts of the Northern District of California and the District of Massachusetts collectively alleging infringement of three patents by Stanmore. The patents at issue relate to computerized orthopedic surgical devices and software, and the patent infringement actions are directed at Stanmore's computerized orthopedic surgery guidance systems, including Stanmore's Sculptor Robotic Guidance Arm. "MAKO has invested tens of millions of dollars developing a significant portfolio of technologies," said Maurice R. Ferré, M.D., president and chief executive officer of MAKO. "We are intent on protecting our leadership position in the field of robotically assisted orthopedic surgery."

About MAKO Surgical Corp.

MAKO Surgical Corp. is a medical device company that markets its RIO Robotic-Arm Interactive Orthopedic system, with specific applications for partial knee resurfacing and total hip replacement, and proprietary RESTORIS Family of Implants for orthopedic procedures called MAKOplasty. The RIO is a surgeon-interactive tactile surgical platform that incorporates a robotic arm and patient-specific visualization technology, which enables accurate, consistently reproducible bone resection for accurate insertion and alignment of RESTORIS knee and hip implants. The MAKOplasty solution incorporates technologies enabled by an intellectual property portfolio including more than 300 U.S. and foreign, owned and licensed, patents and patent applications.

http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/MAKO+Surgical+Corp.+Announces+Patent+Enforcement+Actions+Against+Stanmore+Entities/8197890.html

 

Ouch. Way to spoil Stanmore's Official Launch party at AAOS 13.

 

Bloomberg has more details. Seeking import ban through International Trade Commission, and cash plus ban of sales through the two US Civil cases.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-19/mako-seeks-to-block-stanmore-surgical-guidance-system-imports.html

 

So three actions. I understand the Int'l Trade Commish one and the one filed in federal court in Massachusetts as jurisdiction for Stanmore's US HQ but what's the significance of the locale for the one filed in US court in California? How will this affect Stanmore sales reps set to launch? I don't see a board here for Stanmore.

 

Can anyone confirm that Mako Surgical and Curexo have joined together as Plaintiffs against Stanmore in the case filed in San Francisco? I thought they were competitors. Must have a strong case otherwise I'd think the penalty for a frivolous lawsuit would be substantial.

 

While it does suck for Stanmore, it's not their official launch but rather official debut in the US. I know, pretty much the same thing as far as eyes on your product. AAOS is, however, Blue Belt's official US launch. Blue Belt is also facing a possible ban of sales or the possibility of an evisceration of their claimed technology through a complaint filed in Florida by Mako Surgical.

 

The ITC case involves what appears to be three patents and seeks to stop the units from being imported plus penalties. The case in Massachussetts involves just 2 Mako patents but arguably the most bulletproof ones involving haptics. The case in California was filed for a patent licensed to MAKO by Curexo. Immersion Corp is one to keep an eye on as well. They've licensed a slew of haptic patents to MAKO.

 

hmmm,,,I spent some time in the Stanmore booth,,,really more interested in their oncology products than their robot.

As I was meeting with them I could watch everybody "cruising by" to take a look at the robot.

To me it didn't seem as like Stanmore was that interested in the robot space,,,they seemed more interested in their customs business.

Mixing a sales force to sell robotic UKA's and oncology/limb salvage sales force are about as far apart as you can get.