Fisher & Paykel health arm to fight patent suit

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (FPH) yesterday said it would vigorously defend a lawsuit, brought by rival ResMed, which claimed one of its products breached intellectual property laws.

"We have taken legal advice on the suit. We believe that ResMed's claim against Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is without merit and, if required, we will vigorously defend this suit," said chief executive Michael Daniell.

"At ResMed's invitation we have contacted them with a view to resolving this dispute without unnecessary litigation."

FPH shares slumped 24c on Tuesday after ResMed announced it was taking legal action. The shares recovered 9c on Wednesday and rose a further 15c yesterday.

FPH said it had procedures in place to avoid infringing the intellectual property rights of its competitors and to protect its own intellectual property and would comment further when it had seen the suit.

FPH's products - including its Aclaim and Aclaim 2 nasal masks for treating sleep apnoea, which are at the heart of the suit - compete directly against ResMed's devices, including the Ultra, the mask ResMed is moving to protect.

The global sleep apnoea product market is dominated by ResMed and Respironics which together control about 80 per cent of it.

FPH has between 6 and 8 per cent market share.

ResMed, which is suing FPH in the United States federal district court in San Diego, explained the suit was only to determine if the patents had been breached.

If successful, an action seeking remedy would follow.

- NZPA