By Blake Brittain
(Reuters) – Medical device maker Insulet convinced a jury that Korean rival EOFlow owes it $452 million in damages for stealing trade secrets related to insulin pumps, according to a verdict made public in Massachusetts federal court on Thursday.
The jury in its verdict on Tuesday agreed with Insulet that EOFlow stole the Acton, Massachusetts-based company’s secrets in order to create a competitor to Insulet’s Omnipod, a wearable insulin pump for diabetes patients.
Spokespeople for EOFlow did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the verdict. Insulet president Jim Hollingshead said the company was “extremely pleased” with the verdict.
EOFlow stock was down nearly 30% at the close of Thursday trading on Korea’s stock market.
Insulet sued EOFlow last year. Its lawsuit said EOFlow hired away former Insulet employees to develop its EOPatch, an insulin device similar to Insulet’s Omnipod.
After failing for six years to design its own patch pump, the lawsuit said EOFlow began selling a “completely redesigned” EOPatch that was “strikingly similar” to the Omnipod less than two years after taking advantage of the former Insulet employees’ confidential knowledge.
EOFlow denied the allegations.
Medtronic announced last May that it would acquire EOFlow but canceled the deal last December, citing “multiple breaches” of their agreements.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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