Axonics defeats Medtronic lawsuit in spine-stimulation patent trial

Sept 19 (Reuters) - Medical device maker Axonics has convinced a jury in California federal court that it did not violate rival Medtronic's (MDT.N) patent rights in nerve-stimulation technology.

The jury agreed with Axonics on Wednesday that its R15 neurostimulation system did not infringe Medtronic patents related to its own devices, which are used to treat incontinence and overactive bladder.

A Medtronic spokesperson said on Thursday that the company disagrees with the verdict, will seek to overturn it, and will continue with a related case against Axonics at the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Axonics CEO Raymond Cohen said in a statement that he was pleased with the verdict and that Medtronic's lawsuit had been meant to "stifle competition, limit patient and physician choice, and protect the incumbent's monopoly in sacral neuromodulation."

The companies both make medical devices that are implanted into patients' lower backs to treat bladder and bowel control issues by stimulating the sacral nerve. Medtronic filed the lawsuit in 2019, accusing Axonics' devices of using the same nerve-stimulation technology as Medtronic's InterStim system.

Axonics denied the allegations and argued that the three patents at issue in the trial were invalid. The jury on Wednesday upheld the patents' validity while finding that Axonics' products did not infringe them.

Axonics separately sued Medtronic in California federal court in 2022, accusing the company of monopolizing the market for the systems and making false statements about Axonics products. Medtronic denied the claims, and the case is still ongoing.

The case is Medtronic Inc v. Axonics Modulation Technologies Inc, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 8:19-cv-02115.