Glaukos Announces Settlement of Patent Litigation with Ivantis, Inc.
In accordance with the settlement, the parties will submit a joint request to stay the pending litigation, which had been scheduled for trial beginning on September 28, 2021, and dismiss it upon receipt of the first upfront payment.
Glaukos Corporation (NYSE: GKOS), an ophthalmic medical technology and pharmaceutical company focused on novel therapies for the treatment of glaucoma, corneal disorders and retinal diseases, announced today that it has entered into a settlement agreement with Ivantis, Inc. agreeing to terminate the patent infringement lawsuit Glaukos initiated on April 14, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Southern Division, concerning Ivantis’ Hydrus® Microstent.
Under the agreement, Ivantis will pay Glaukos $60 million, $30 million of which will be paid by December 31, 2021, and the other $30 million to be paid by December 31, 2022. Ivantis will also pay Glaukos a 10% ongoing royalty through April 26, 2025, based on Ivantis’ Hydrus Microstent U.S. sales and any international sales supplied out of the U.S. Further, the parties have agreed to mutual licenses and covenants not to sue on the Hydrus and iStent® technologies. In accordance with the settlement, the parties will submit a joint request to stay the pending litigation, which had been scheduled for trial beginning on September 28, 2021, and dismiss it upon receipt of the first upfront payment.
“Since our founding in 1998, Glaukos has invested considerable time and resources to develop novel technologies that have pioneered an entirely new treatment category for glaucoma surgeons and their patients,” said Thomas Burns, Glaukos president and chief executive officer. “We remain confident in the strength of our robust intellectual property portfolio and believe this settlement allows us to focus our full attention and resources on executing our long-term growth strategy by bringing transformative new technologies to the market for the benefit of patients worldwide.”
About Glaukos
Glaukos (www.glaukos.com) is an ophthalmic medical technology and pharmaceutical company focused on novel therapies for the treatment of glaucoma, corneal disorders and retinal diseases. The company pioneered Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery, or MIGS, to revolutionize the traditional glaucoma treatment and management paradigm. Glaukos launched the iStent®, its first MIGS device, in the United States in 2012, its next-generation iStent inject® device in the United States in 2018, and most recently, the iStent inject W device in 2020. In corneal health, Glaukos’ proprietary suite of single-use, bio-activated pharmaceuticals are designed to strengthen, stabilize and reshape the cornea through a process called corneal collagen cross-linking to treat corneal ectatic disorders and correct refractive conditions. Glaukos is leveraging its platform technology to build a comprehensive and proprietary portfolio of micro-scale surgical and pharmaceutical therapies in glaucoma, corneal health and retinal disease.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for forward-looking statements contained herein, we caution you that they are based on current expectations about future events affecting us and are subject to risks, uncertainties and factors relating to our operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control, that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements in this press release. These potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the parties’ execution on the terms, and the effects and outcomes, of the settlement agreement, uncertainties regarding the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our business or the economy generally; our ability to continue to generate sales of our commercialized products and develop and commercialize additional products; our compliance with federal, state and foreign laws and regulations for the approval and sale and marketing of our products and of our manufacturing processes; the lengthy and expensive clinical trial process and the uncertainty of timing and outcomes from any particular clinical trial or regulatory approval processes; and the risk of recalls or serious safety issues with our products and the uncertainty of patient outcomes. These and other risks, uncertainties and factors related to Glaukos and our business are described in detail under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 5, 2021. Our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are available in the Investor Section of our website at www.glaukos.com or at www.sec.gov. In addition, information about the risks and benefits of our products is available on our website at www.glaukos.com. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this press release, which speak only as of the date hereof. We do not undertake any obligation to update, amend or clarify these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities law.
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