Another win for Abbott as Court of Appeal grants PI against Sinocare

Abbott thus wins outright at the UPC in the second instance. The company filed two PI applications with The Hague local division in June 2024. Abbott alleges Sinocare and its distribution partner Menarini infringe its EP 4 344 633 and EP 3 988 471 and seeks to halt sales of Sinocare’s GlucoMen iCan CGM system in UPC territory.

In late March, the Court of Appeal upheld a PI against Sinocare and Menarini regarding EP 633. Abbott later enforced the judgment, which also covers the Sinocare iCan i3 version. This had been on the market in Europe since October 2023.

Decision overturned

Now the Court of Appeal has issued another PI regarding EP 471, which covers a sensor and on-body device combined with the iCan app, which can be installed on a smartphone. Thus, the presiding judge Ulrike Voß, the two legally qualified judges Bart van den Broek and Nathalie Sabotier, and technically qualified judges Dorothea Hofer and Gérard Myon overturned the first-instance decision.

In October, just a week after granting a PI for EP 633, the Dutch local division had denied Abbott its second application in the first instance.

The Court of Appeal found that the first instance had interpreted the claim of the patent too narrowly. Based on a broader claim construction, the court found the patent “more likely than not” infringed.

Furthermore, the judges acknowledged the urgency. Prior to the publication of the user guide and the product’s actual availability in Europe, Abbott did not have sufficient information to identify any infringement, the court ruled.

In addition, the patentee was waiting for a decision in a parallel opposition against EP 471 at the EPO. Since the written decision of the Opposition Division was rendered on 24 April 2025 and this date coincided with the availability of the user guide and the launch of the products in different European markets, the Court of Appeal set this date as the earliest date to apply for a PI.

Regarding EP 633, proceedings on the merits are now pending at the UPC (case ID UPC-CFI-0001613/2025). In view of Article 62.5 and 60.8 UPCA a case on the merits regarding EP 471 should follow soon.

Stable teams

A team from Taylor Wessing represented Abbott in both cases from the beginning. Brussels based partner Christian Dekoninck took the lead, arguing legal aspects such as jurisdiction and urgency.

While Geert Theuws of Taylor Wessing’s Eindhoven office presented the technical aspects in the case over EP 633, François Pochart of August Debouzy was in charge of the technical side of the case over EP 471.

Bird & Bird leads the case for defendants Sinocare and Menarini. A mixed team of French, Italian, and Dutch lawyers defended both companies at the first and second instance.

Milan partner Edoardo Barbera is representing Menarini in both cases. Meanwhile Paris-based partner Thierry Lautier was active for Sinocare in the proceedings regarding EP 471 and Dutch partner Tjibbe Douma lead the case regarding EP 633.