Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune - September 14, 2006
Bruce Japsen, bjapsen@tribune.com
A jury in U.S. District Court in Madison, Wis., earlier this month found Abbott infringed on an Innogenetics NV patent that covers a method of detecting the hepatitis C virus through what is called genotyping. On Friday the jury awarded $7 million in damages.
The award could grow because Innogenetics said the judge could eventually triple the award "because the jury determined Abbott's patent infringement was willful," Innogenetics, of Ghent, Belgium, said in a statement. A judge's ruling on whether to increase the damage award could come next month, the companies said.
"This is a landmark victory for Innogenetics, and possibly for other innovators like us out there," said Innogenetics Chief Executive Frank Morich.
"This win protects an important patent for us, and provides compensation for this major infringement. But perhaps just as importantly it says that being a large, global company does not entitle you to willfully disregard intellectual property laws without consequence," Morich said.
Innogenetics said the damage award may be increased up to three times at the judge's discretion and that it would seek an injunction against Abbott's diagnostics products that infringe its patent.
Abbott is not ruling out an appeal of the award, saying company executives are "evaluating our legal options," the company said in a statement. "Abbott continues to believe Innogenetics' patent is invalid and that our product does not infringe."
From a financial perspective, the court victory award means a lot more to Innogenetics' balance sheet than to Abbott's. The North Chicago-based maker of drugs and medical products said the test in question generates less than $10 million in annual sales.
Innogenetics reported $62 million in annual worldwide sales. By comparison, Abbott's global diagnostics sales last year were $3.8 billion, or 17 percent of the company's total $22.3 billion sales.
Innogenetics has 530 employees compared with Abbott's 65,000 employees around the world.
Innogenetics specializes in diagnostic testing, particularly in analyzing blood samples for infectious diseases including hepatitis and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The company is developing several vaccines that are in early experimental stages, a spokeswoman said.
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