Insulet announced that it has successfully defended its intellectual property against EOFlow.

Following a four-week trial in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in the matter of Insulet Corporation vs. EOFlow et al., a jury verdict was returned in favor of Insulet on December 3.

In August 2023, Rival insulin pump maker Insulet claimed in a lawsuit filing that EOFlow’s EOPatch violated three of the patents for its Omnipod pump and that the designs are “practically identical.”

Insulet alleged when EOFlow was founded in 2011, it began with a patch-pump using a different technology than Omnipod for insulin delivery, but around 2016, “Instead of continuing to independently design and develop its own patch pump, EOFlow pivoted and launched a plan to brazenly copy Insulet’s Omnipod System,” hiring former Insulet executives and critical employees to oversee developmwnt, manufacturing, approval, and marketing of EOPatch. The company also alleged that EOFlow’s manufacturer, Flex, had misappropriated trade secrets.

The jury found EOFlow and several other defendants had indeed misappropriated Insulet’s trade secrets. Insulet was awarded $170 million in compensatory damages from EOFlow and a further $282 million in exemplary damages for willful and malicious misappropriation. This constitutes a total damages award of $452 million.

It’s not known with certainty whether EOFlow has the ability to satisfy this damage award, Insulet said in a press release.

“We are extremely pleased with the jury’s verdict, which validates our commitment to protecting our technology and defending our intellectual property against misappropriation and infringement,” said Jim Hollingshead, Insulet’s president and CEO. “We will not only enforce our patents, but also zealously protect our valuable trade secrets, in which we’ve invested heavily to improve the lives of people with diabetes.”