On Monday, Becton, Dickinson & Co. persuaded a federal judge in Chicago that their method for transferring dangerous medications between syringes and drug vials did not violate two patents held by rival medical device company Baxter International Inc.
According to U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow, the BD PhaSeal system does not encourage users to infringe on Baxter's legal rights when using a "reconstitution" device to dilute liquid drugs.
In 2017, Baxter filed its first lawsuit against BD, claiming that the PhaSeal system's combination "protector" and "injector" violated its patents.
The Judge declared on Monday that the two patents still in issue are not violated by the products made by BD.
She further said that BD did not infringe on one of the patents since it did not encourage PhaSeal customers to use the components unlawfully and because they might be utilised for other things besides reconstitution.
Lefkow added that PhaSeal's product falls short of all the specifications set out in Baxter's other patent.
The Alaris medical-infusion pump system is the subject of a separate patent dispute between BD and its subsidiary CareFusion Corp., which was filed in Chicago.