A Medical Device Daily
Synergetics (O'Fallon, Missouri), in response to a lawsuit filed against it by Iridex (Mountain View, California) in October 2005, claiming that a Synergetics adapter infringes its U.S. patent No. 5,085,492 (the '492 patent) (Medical Device Daily, Oct. 21, 2005), yesterday said it has designed a different connector system to interface its laser probe products to Iridex laser sources.
Synergetics said in a statement: “To remove any doubt about infringement issues moving forward for the new connector system, Synergetics USA, Inc.'s wholly-owned subsidiary, Synergetics Inc. filed a declaratory judgment lawsuit . . . in the Eastern District of Missouri to have the court declare that its new design does not infringe Iridex's patent.”
Synergetics said the new design takes into account positions taken by Iridex in the current litigation “as well as the plain language of the patent claims. The new connector design is significantly different than Iridex's commercial connector and is significantly different than the connector disclosed and claimed in its patent. Nonetheless, Synergetics' new connector easily and effectively interfaces Synergetics' laser probes to Iridex laser sources.”
Synergetics also said that it “recently uncovered” information from another laser company “throwing into question” the validity of the Iridex '492 patent.
“We believe that this newly uncovered information significantly weakens the strength of Iridex's assertions against either of Synergetics' original or new connectors and possibly invalidates the Iridex patent altogether,” said Gregg Scheller, president/CEO of Synergetics USA.
Synergetics USA resulted from the 2005 combination of Valley Forge Scientific and Synergetics Inc., bringing together their capabilities in bipolar electrosurgical generators and manufacturing of microsurgical hand instruments. The company manufactures devices for ophthalmic surgery and neurosurgery and other healthcare applications. It also manufactures generators, based on its DualWave technology, and complementary instrumentation and disposable products.
In other legalities: K.B. Forbes, executive director of the Consejo de Latinos Unidos (Council of United Latinos; Los Angeles), an advocacy group assisting the uninsured, reported that Catholic Healthcare West (CHW; San Francisco) was denied preliminary approval of a class action settlement of a lawsuit charging price gouging by the hospital.
Forbes called the settlement proposal “grossly unfair and nothing more than a price-gouging protection act.”
He said that CHW's proposed settlement offered a discount program for the uninsured that would exclude anyone who had or could have qualified for health insurance 24 months prior to when emergency hospital services were rendered. CHW's discount program originally excluded residents who did not live in 478 specific zip codes in California, Arizona and Nevada.
The zip code provision was changed in an Amended Settlement Proposal after a public attack by Consejo.
“In essence, 99% of the uninsured would have been excluded from their proposed discount plan,” said Forbes. “We are very pleased with today's decision.”