Background
Abbott Diabetes Care, maker of the widely-used FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system, has been waging a patent enforcement campaign against Sinocare’s competing GlucoMen iCan CGM system across the Unified Patent Court. Abbott asserted two European patents: EP 4 344 633 and EP 3 988 471, both relating to displays and user interfaces for medical monitoring devices.
In October 2025, Abbott won a preliminary injunction on EP 633 from The Hague local division. Just one week later, however, the same court denied Abbott’s second PI application on EP 471, finding that the GlucoMen iCan system did not infringe under the court’s construction of the patent claims. Abbott appealed the EP 471 denial to the UPC Court of Appeal.
The Court’s Holding
The Court of Appeal reversed the first-instance denial and granted Abbott a preliminary injunction covering Sinocare’s sensor, on-body device, and the iCan smartphone app. The five-judge panel—comprising three legally qualified and two technically qualified judges—found that The Hague local division had construed the patent claims too narrowly.
Under the broader claim construction adopted by the Court of Appeal, infringement of EP 471 was found to be “more likely than not,” meeting the standard for preliminary relief. The injunction prohibits Sinocare from selling the GlucoMen iCan CGM system across UPC member states.
Combined with the earlier EP 633 injunction, Abbott has now secured preliminary injunctions on both asserted patents—significantly strengthening its position ahead of the merits proceedings.
Key Takeaways
- The UPC Court of Appeal showed a willingness to correct overly narrow claim construction at the first-instance level, signaling that patent holders can expect meaningful appellate review of claim interpretation in the UPC system.
- Abbott’s two-patent strategy paid off: even when the first instance split its rulings, the Court of Appeal provided a second chance to secure broad injunctive relief.
- The CGM market—one of the fastest-growing segments in medical devices—is increasingly being shaped by patent litigation, as established players use IP enforcement to protect market share against lower-cost competitors.
- This decision reinforces that the UPC is becoming a preferred forum for pan-European patent enforcement in the medical device industry, offering injunctions with cross-border effect.
Why It Matters
The continuous glucose monitoring market is projected to exceed $20 billion by 2030, and Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre is the market leader. This ruling effectively blocks one of its emerging competitors across UPC-participating European countries, demonstrating the UPC’s power to reshape competitive dynamics through patent enforcement with pan-European effect. For medical device companies entering the European CGM market, the decision signals that Abbott is aggressively defending its patent portfolio and that the UPC provides an efficient path to broad injunctive relief. The Court of Appeal’s broader claim construction approach may also embolden other patent holders to appeal first-instance denials, as the appellate panel has shown it will independently assess claim scope rather than deferring to local division interpretations.