EPO Revokes Regenlab PRP Patent

Estar Technologies announced the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office (EPO) has revoked Regen Lab SA (Regenlab)'s platelet rich plasma (PRP) patent in its entirety due to lack of novelty and added matter. An opposition was filed against Regenlab European Patent No 2,073,862 B1 in 2017, and the patent was revoked following a hearing in Munich in April 2019.

"We are extremely pleased by the EPO ruling," said Aaron Esteron, the CEO of Estar Medical and a pioneer in the blood separation field. "It has been our position from the start that the Regenlab blood separation patent was false and should have never been granted and we are happy that the EPO shares the same view. Estar Medical has remained confident in its position since the opposition was filed in 2017. It is gratifying to see that confidence affirmed. We believe that this additional win at the EPO, after defeating Regenlab in Germany and the UK, further validates Estar Medical's undisputed leadership position in the global PRP, Regenerative Medicine and Autologous Cell Therapy markets."

This EPO decision joins the UK High Court (Patents Court) ruling from January this year which also agreed with Estar Medical's position and revoked the same Regenlab PRP patent in its entirety for lack of novelty and inventive step. Regenlab's application to amend the UK Patent was refused by the Patent Courts on the grounds that the amended patent would still be invalid. The Patents Court also found Regenlab's owner and CEO, Mr. Antoine Turzi, to be "not a reliable witness".

The UK Patents Court denied Regenlab permission to appeal the patent revocation judgement and ordered Regenlab to pay extensive legal expenses to Estar Medical. Regenlab, however, asked the court to defer the payment because it has "severely restricted…liquid funds available" and, "the amount of disposable cash Regen can access is limited." Regen asserted that if it is "not allowed sufficient time to secure the necessary funds…it is likely that it will be in default of any Order to make the interim payment," which "could have a 'domino effect' on the viability of the business" which "would impact on Regen's business in a way that would be difficult to quantify financially but is likely to be substantial and would take significant time for Regen to recover its position."

The recent EPO decision, along with the UK Patents Court's revocation and refusal to grant Regenlab leave to appeal, extend Estar Medical's 100% success rate against Regenlab, adding to Estar Medical's successful defense of Regenlab's claim for patent infringement in Germany, and winning the venue judgment in New York.

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