Thursday, July 6, 2017
PTAB Denies IPR Petition Challenging MiMedx Patent on Placental Tissue Grafts
PTAB Denies IPR Petition Challenging MiMedx Patent on Placental Tissue Grafts
On June 29, 2015, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) denied a petition by Tissue Transplant Technology Ltd. and Human Biologics of Texas, Ltd. for inter partes review (IPR) of U.S. Patent No. 8,709,494, owned by MiMedx Group, Inc. (IPR2015-00320). The MiMedx patent is directed towards “placental membrane tissue grafts (amnion and chorion) and methods of preparing, preserving, and medical uses for the same.” MiMedX commercializes the technology and appears to be a competitor of the petitioners.
The ‘494 patent is one of four patent that have been asserted against the petitioners in MiMedx Group, Inc. v. Tissue Transplant Technology Ltd. et al., Case No. 1:14-CV-719-HLH (W. D. Tex.). The other three asserted patents (U.S. Patent Nos. 8,597,687; 8,372,437; and 8,323,701) are also the subject of IPR petitions: IPR2015-00420, IPR2015-00664, and IPR2015-00669, respectively. The PTAB has yet to decide whether to institute these three remaining IPR requests.
MiMedx has also asserted the patents in a lawsuit pending in the Northern District of Georgia. MiMedx Group, Inc. v. Liventa Bioscience, Inc. et al., Case No. 1:14-CV-00178 (N.D. Ga.). The defendants in that case are the petitioners in IPR2015-00664 and IPR2015-00669. In both cases, the district court has denied the petitioners requests to stay the litigation pending resolution of the IPR petitions, so the infringement litigation is still moving forward concurrently.
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