Sight Sciences Awarded $34M in Damages, Alcon Found Liable for Infringement

Sight Sciences (SGHT) announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware issued an order on post-trial motions in Sight Sciences' patent infringement case against Alcon (ALC) originally filed on September 16, 2021, that preserved the jury's verdict of willful infringement. Sight Sciences asserted that Alcon's sale of the Hydrus Microstent infringed three Sight Sciences patents. The court's order was entered on March 27. The order did not disturb the jury's verdict that Alcon willfully infringed all three of Sight Sciences' asserted patents and awarded monetary damages of $34M, plus supplemental damages and interest, for past infringement, plus an ongoing royalty of 10% of Hydrus revenue through November 10, 2028, the date of expiration of Sight Sciences' last asserted patent. A final judgment is expected to be entered by the court in the coming months after supplemental damages and pre-judgment interest have been calculated. The court's final judgment is subject to appeal by Alcon. The patents at issue were U.S. Patent Nos. 8,287,482, 9,370,443, and 11,389,328. The past monetary damages are comprised of $5.5M in lost profits and $28.5M in royalty damages for Hydrus sales for the period commencing from its commercial launch through the jury verdict, plus pre-judgment and post-judgment interest and supplemental damages for Hydrus sales during the period between the jury's verdict and the court's entry of the final judgment, in amounts to be determined after Alcon produces supplemental financial data. The final judgment, if upheld, would entitle Sight Sciences to ongoing royalties at a rate of 10% of revenue for each Hydrus sold for the period after entry of the final judgment through the expiration of the last asserted patent, which is set to expire on November 10, 2028. The final judgment is subject to appeal, and may be affected by ex parte reexamination proceedings filed by Alcon in front of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The company expects to record a $5.4M success fee to operating expenses, payable to Cooley. The company expects to exclude this success fee in the amounts reported under non-GAAP adjusted operating expenses.