Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California granted a stay in patent litigation proceedings between Alphatec and NuVasive, among other decisions regarding ongoing litigation.
Five things to know:
1. The stay granted Feb. 6 ceases active litigation in the patent suit while the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office considers challenges Alphatec recently filed. The challenges seek to invalidate select NuVasive patents for the CoRoent lateral implants.
2. NuVasive originally filed suit last year, alleging Alphatec's lateral surgery procedure infringed upon its patents for lateral spine surgery. About three months later, in May 2018, the court dismissed NuVasive's claims that Alphatec infringed on patent designs for implants and sequential dilators for lateral spine procedures.
3. NuVasive also filed a motion for preliminary injunction which would stop Alphatec from participating in the lateral surgery market, but the court denied that motion in July 2018.
4. Alphatec anticipates the stay will remain in effect until at least July 2019, at which point the patent office is expected to decide whether to proceed with a full review of the patent challenge.
5. Finally, on Feb. 6 the court also vacated a Dec. 9, 2019, trial date for the lawsuit.