Treace Medical files patent infringement suit against Stryker

Treace Medical Concepts (TMCI) announced that it filed a lawsuit against Stryker Corporation (SYK) and its subsidiary Wright Medical Technology, alleging infringement of 9 patents related to Treace’s innovative Lapiplasty 3D Bunion Correction technologies and unfair competition. The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and seeks injunctive relief and damages. “Treace Medical was the first company to develop, patent, and introduce an instrumented 3D bunion correction system, which created an entirely new segment of the US bunion market and successfully built its market presence from zero to becoming a standard of care in bunion surgery over the past ten years,” said John T. Treace, CEO and Founder of Treace. “Our patented technologies have revolutionized the field of hallux valgus treatment, delivering a new paradigm of treatment in over 100,000 surgical procedures to date. Companies such as Stryker, unfortunately, have rushed to capitalize on Treace’s pioneering research and development by launching products that, as detailed in our Complaint, infringe on Treace’s intellectual property. Moreover, we believe Stryker has also commercialized those infringing products in ways that violate competition laws. This suit not only sends a message to competitors in the marketplace, particularly those that infringe on our intellectual property, but also reassures our shareholders that we are committed to protecting our investments in our pioneering research and technology, which drives our ability to continue to innovate solutions that benefit patients. Today’s action is consistent with what we stated publicly earlier this year, namely that our strategy all along has been to assert and enforce our IP rights. We also continue to expect 2024 Adjusted EBITDA to improve approximately 50% compared to full-year 2023 and to reach Adjusted EBITDA breakeven in 2025.”