Sibionics challenges Abbott patent in latest glucose-monitoring dispute

Chinese medical-device company Sibionics has denied allegations that it infringes Abbott’s patented glucose-monitoring technology and is challenging the validity of a patent protecting technology used in Abbott’s FreeStyle wearable systems.

The development was reported by Law360 on September 22 and represents the latest development in a series of patent disputes between the two companies concerning continuous glucose-monitoring (CGM) technology.

According to the report, Sibionics is defending an infringement claim brought by Abbott in the UK High Court while arguing that the Abbott patent relied upon in the proceedings should be invalidated. The dispute adds a UK dimension to broader litigation between the companies, which have also faced each other before the Unified Patent Court (UPC) over CGM technology.

Separate UPC proceedings

Earlier this month, the Milan Local Division of the UPC granted Abbott a preliminary injunction against several Sibionics-related entities in proceedings concerning European patent EP 3 960 072 B1. The patent, titled Compact on-body physiological monitoring devices and methods thereof, concerns a glucose-sensor insertion assembly for positioning an on-body patch device incorporating a sensor and sensor electronics.

Abbott had alleged that the respondents intended to manufacture, sell, import, and place on the market Sibionics’ GS3-R System, and sought provisional measures under the UPC Agreement.

In its September 7 order, the Milan Local Division granted Abbott’s application and prohibited the respondents, on a provisional basis, from infringing the patent, including by offering, placing on the market, using, importing, or storing the GS3-R System for those purposes in the Contracting Member States in which the patent was in force.

The Court also ordered the respondents to provide information concerning the origin and distribution channels of the GS3-R System and imposed penalty provisions for non-compliance. The order was declared immediately enforceable, subject to the parties’ rights of appeal.

The respondents had challenged the validity of EP 3 960 072 on grounds including sufficiency of disclosure, added matter and lack of inventive step, as well as disputing infringement. The Milan court’s decision was made in the context of provisional-measures proceedings and therefore did not constitute a final determination on the merits.

The patent is also the subject of opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office.

Earlier Abbott-Sibionics litigation

The companies have previously litigated another Abbott patent before the UPC.

In February 2025, the UPC Court of Appeal ordered Sibionics to refrain from specified infringing acts involving EP 3 831 283, which concerns technology used in Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre CGM systems. The proceedings involved Sibionics’ GS1 Device.

The Court of Appeal concluded, for the purposes of the provisional-injunction proceedings, that it was not more likely than not that the patent was invalid and that infringement was more likely than not. It subsequently ordered Sibionics to refrain from infringing acts involving products falling within claim 1 of the patent in the relevant UPC Contracting Member States. The Court noted that Abbott and Sibionics are competitors in the CGM field, with Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre products forming its principal CGM product line.

The latest UK proceedings are separate from the Milan UPC case and concern an Abbott patent covering FreeStyle wearable systems. The UK litigation will now provide another national forum for the companies’ continuing dispute over CGM technology.

With CGM devices increasingly incorporating sophisticated sensor, insertion, and monitoring technology, the proceedings highlight the patent disputes that can arise around competing medical-device platforms across multiple jurisdictions.

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