Insulin pump firm Insulet wins $452m in trade secrets clash

Insulet has persuaded a jury that rival South Korean company EOFlow stole trade secrets relating to its wearable insulin pump technology, awarding it a whopping $452 million in damages.

The lawsuit revolved around Insulet's Omnipod tubeless insulin pump – used with continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to create an artificial pancreas system used by diabetics – and claimed that EOFlow's competing EOPatch device infringed three patents held by Acton, Massachusetts-based Insulet on the technology.

The suit also that EOFlow was originally developing an alternative device, but changed direction after stealing Omnipod intellectual property, and headhunted Insulet staff in order to develop EOPatch.

Insulet said in a statement that, after a four-week trial, the jury found that EOFlow and several other defendants misappropriated Insulet's trade secrets.

It awarded the US company $170 million in compensatory damages from EOFlow and an additional $282 million in exemplary damages from EOFlow for "willfull and malicious misappropriation." EOFlow – which strenuously denied the allegations – has not commented on the outcome of the lawsuit. Its shares fell by nearly 30% after the outcome of the trial was announced.

"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 chief executive.

"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," he added.

The dispute between the two companies scuppered a $738 million takeover of EOFlow by medical device giant Medtronic, which was first announced in May 2023 before being abandoned a few months later after a federal judge blocked EOFlow from selling its insulin patch pump in the US.

Medtronic said its decision to walk away resulted from "multiple breaches" of the takeover agreement, while EOFlow said efforts to find a solution failed because of "a wide gap between the two companies, given Medtronic's view of uncertainties."

At the time, EOFlow CEO Jesse Kim said: "While the company is facing a legal challenge, the fact that we are one of the only two entirely disposable wearable insulin delivery solutions in the world doesn't change."

EOFlow licensed the EOPatch pump to Menarini in Europe, which was selling it under the GlucoMen Day Pump brand in Germany from August 2022, but withdrew it from sale last year after Insulet was granted a preliminary injunction.