Press Release

Sight Sciences Announces Successful Patent Infringement Verdict

April 26, 2024

Palo Alto – April 26, 2024 – Cooley represented Sight Sciences (listed as SGHT on Nasdaq), an eyecare technology company focused on developing and commercializing innovative, interventional technologies that elevate the standard of care, which received a jury trial win on April 26, 2024, against its competitors – Alcon, Alcon Vision and Alcon Research (collectively known as Alcon) and Ivantis – in the US District Court for the District of Delaware. Attorneys Michelle Rhyu, Orion Armon, Jeff Karr and Eamonn Gardner led the Cooley trial team.

Sight Sciences claimed that Alcon’s and Ivantis’ sale of the Hydrus Microstent infringed three key patents covering medical devices that are implanted into the eye to treat mild to moderate open-angle glaucoma.  The patents were prosecuted by Cooley partner Mika Mayer and her team. Glaucoma is a common eye disease that affects tens of millions of people worldwide and is the leading cause of irreversible blindness.

The jury found that Alcon’s and Ivantis’s sale of the infringing Hydrus Microstent caused Sight Sciences to lose sales of its OMNI Surgical System device and awarded lost profits damages of $5.5 million and royalty damages of $28.5 million – totaling $34 million. When enhancements for willfulness and future damages are factored in, Alcon’s and Ivantis’s total liability is expected to increase.

The patents at issue are US Patent Nos. 8,287,482, 9,370,443 and 11,389,328.

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