This week’s Big News in the Telehealth Wars was Teladoc suing their chief rival Amwell (the former American Well) for patent infringement. These relate largely to telemedicine carts and robotic technology patents acquired by Teladoc via InTouch Health, which was finalized in July. InTouch Health’s value in the neighborhood of $1bn, when all was factored in, was reinforced by its over 130 patents and pending applications.
Notices were sent by Teladoc in mid-September for compliance by 18 September. It was mentioned by Amwell as meritless in filings with the Securities & Exchange Commission but apparently did not make a dent in their through-the-roof IPO raise of $742 million on 16 September. Their share price remains steady at over a $10 per share increase from the IPO price.
Amwell’s infringing products, according to reports on the lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the District of Delaware, encompass their Carepoints line of digital scope, stethoscope, and four different types of telemedicine carts, including the Horus HD Digital Scope System and the Thinklabs One Digital Stethoscope. There are nine contested patents. Teladoc is asking for treble damages plus court fees. Amwell has already stated that this type of business for them is in single digits–5 percent of revenue in 2019.
Both Amwell and Teladoc have been down this road before in 2015 and 2016. Teladoc also started it then, with Amwell countersuing–and losing in June 2016, with additional patent challenges filed by Teladoc with the USPTO. This record doesn’t bode well for Amwell, but even though IP fights tend to generate nasty headlines and drain resources, what is contested is a fraction of their business. Curiously, to this Editor’s knowledge, there is no record of InTouch Health, prior to their acquisition, challenging Amwell on these systems. Healthcare Dive, Healthcare IT News, Fierce Healthcare, WSJ (paywalled)
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