Diagnostics Company Wins Patent Battle

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has ruled in favor of Stanbio Laboratory (Boerne, TX, USA), initially rejecting claims of its competitor HemoCue (Lake Forest, CA, USA).

All seven claims of HemoCue's microcuvette patent (#5,674,457) were initially rejected. The microcuvette is a blood-collecting and -testing device used with Stanbio Laboratory's HemoPoint H2 photometer. In April 2006, Stanbio Laboratory filed a cross-complaint alleging that HemoCue, Inc., engaged in unfair business practices against Stanbio. According to Stanbio's cross-complaint, HemoCue was telling customers and potential customers that Stanbio was legally barred from selling its hemoglobin meters and microcuvettes.

"This is a tremendous victory for our side regarding our rights to sell our HemoPointH2 hemoglobin testing system,” said William Pippin, CEO of Stanbio Laboratory. "We believe the panel's finding fully supports our case that HemoCue's patent is invalid. There has been a great deal of misinformation circulated about patents once we introduced our HemoPoint H2 hemoglobin testing system.”

Stanbio's HemoPoint H2 hemoglobin system is widely used in hospitals, physician office laboratories, blood banks, as a screening test for anemia. The company manufactures and sells testing and diagnostic devices for clinical chemistry, pregnancy, drugs of abuse, serology, urinalysis, microbiology assays, and point-of-care blood hemoglobin tests, with customers in 70 countries around the world.



Related Links:
Stanbio Laboratory
HemoCue