Sight Sciences Prevails in Hydrus Microstent IP Case Against Alcon

Sight Sciences has received a positive jury trial verdict of $34 million related to a patent infringement case it filed in 2021 against Alcon, Alcon Research, and Ivantis in the U.S. Court for the District of Delaware.
 
In the infringement case, Sight Sciences alleged that Alcon’s and Ivantis’ sale of the Hydrus Microstent infringed on three of its key patents.
 
The verdict, following a five-day trial, was that Alcon willfully infringed all three of Sight Sciences’ asserted patents. It awarded monetary damages for past infringement—these were comprised of $5.5 million in lost profits and $28.5 million in royalty damages for Hydrus sales from commercial launch to trial.
 
The patents at issue were U.S. Patent Nos. 8,287,482, 9,370,443, and 11,389,328. The patents describe and claim devices and methods for reducing intraocular pressure in the eye.
 
 The judge hasn’t yet ruled on potential enhancement of damages related to the willfulness verdict or other remedies. This verdict is also subject to appeal.
 
“Ever since Sight Sciences filed its first surgical glaucoma patent application in 2006, the company has invested considerable capital in research and development to create new and innovative technologies, striving to pioneer novel treatments for chronic eye disease,” said Paul Badawi, co-founder and CEO of Sight Sciences. “Our commitment to these investments underscores our mission to expand patient access to transformative and interventional technologies, ultimately elevating the standard of care and enhancing patient outcomes.”
 
“Over the past eighteen years, we have pioneered various important and proprietary microinvasive surgical glaucoma methods and devices, including intracanalicular scaffolding, bladeless goniotomy, ab interno canaloplasty, ab interno trabeculotomy, and combinations of these methods,” Badawi continued. “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. Our attention remains steadfast on equipping eye care providers with efficacious technologies and executing on our long-term growth strategy in surgical glaucoma and dry eye disease.”