PTAB

IPR2025-01126

Aerin Medical Inc v. Neurent Medical Ltd

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Petition
petition

1. Case Identification

2. Patent Overview

  • Title: Neuromodulation Device for Treating Rhinitis
  • Brief Description: The ’973 patent discloses a method for treating rhinitis, congestion, and rhinorrhea. The method involves advancing a multi-electrode end effector into a patient's sino-nasal cavity to deliver radiofrequency (RF) energy to target sites, disrupting neural signals to reduce mucus production and mucosal engorgement.

3. Grounds for Unpatentability

Ground 1: Claims 1-30 are obvious over Townley.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Townley (Application # 2016/0331459).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued that Townley, which is the inventor’s own prior work, discloses a therapeutic neuromodulation system for treating rhinosinusitis that meets nearly every limitation of the challenged claims. Townley’s multi-electrode end effector (MEEE) is described as having at least eight electrodes on expandable struts that extend beyond the shaft surface at an angle less than 90 degrees to deliver RF energy. Petitioner asserted that Townley’s disclosure of a console with an energy generator, temperature sensors for feedback, and an automated control algorithm that monitors temperature and treatment time maps directly onto the limitations of the dependent claims. For example, Townley’s console is described as monitoring tissue temperature and automatically shutting off energy delivery when a predetermined maximum is reached, which Petitioner contended renders claims related to temperature-based energy control obvious.
    • Motivation to Combine (for §103 grounds): This ground is based on a single reference. Petitioner argued that while Townley does not explicitly state its treatment “improves nasal breathability,” this outcome is an obvious and inherent result of its disclosed method. Townley expressly teaches treating symptoms of rhinosinusitis, which include nasal blockage and congestion. Petitioner contended that a person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have immediately understood that treating these symptoms would necessarily improve a patient's ability to breathe through their nose.
    • Expectation of Success (for §103 grounds): A POSITA would have had a high expectation of success that applying Townley's disclosed treatment for rhinosinusitis would improve nasal breathability, as this is the direct and expected physiological consequence of reducing nasal obstruction.

Ground 2: Claims 1-2 and 16-17 are obvious over Wolf-003 alone or in view of Wolf-290.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Wolf-003 (Application # 2015/0202003) and Wolf-290 (Application # 2019/0282290).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued that Wolf-003 alone renders the claims obvious, as it discloses a multi-electrode device for treating tissues within the nasal cavity to reduce mucus production. Wolf-003’s device includes a treatment portion with eight RF electrodes that can protrude from the device and be oriented at non-perpendicular angles. This device is used to deliver ablative energy to mucosal and submucosal tissue, including the inferior turbinate, to treat symptoms like post-nasal drip. Petitioner contended that these disclosures teach the core structural and functional elements of independent claims 1 and 16 and dependent claims 2 and 17. The primary distinction is that Wolf-003 is explicitly directed to treating post-nasal drip rather than the broader condition of rhinitis to improve breathability.
    • Motivation to Combine (for §103 grounds): Petitioner argued a POSITA would combine the teachings of Wolf-003 and Wolf-290. Wolf-003 provides a specific device and method for delivering RF energy to mucus-producing tissue in the nasal cavity. Wolf-290 confirms that delivering ablative energy to nasal airway tissues to damage nerve fibers and goblet cells is a known method for treating rhinitis. A POSITA would thus be motivated to apply the known device from Wolf-003 to the known problem of rhinitis as described in Wolf-290, representing a predictable application of a known technology to achieve a known result. The combination would yield clinical and commercial benefits by expanding the use of an existing device to treat a more common condition.
    • Expectation of Success (for §103 grounds): A POSITA would have had a reasonable expectation of success in using the Wolf-003 device to treat rhinitis. The device is already designed to deliver ablative energy to the specific tissues (mucosa, nerve fibers, turbinates) implicated in rhinitis, and Wolf-290 confirms the efficacy of this approach.

4. Relief Requested

  • Petitioner requests institution of an inter partes review and cancellation of claims 1-30 of the ’973 patent as unpatentable.