Background
This dispute pits two companies competing in the booming market for supplements based on nicotinamide riboside (NR) — a form of vitamin B3 that has attracted attention for its potential role in cellular energy and longevity. W.R. Grace & Co.-Conn., a specialty chemicals company, holds a portfolio of patents covering crystalline forms of NR and licenses them to its consumer brand Tru Niagen. Elysium Health, a supplement startup backed by several Nobel laureates, sells a product called Basis that contains NR as a key ingredient.
W.R. Grace filed suit in the District of Delaware in August 2020, asserting that Elysium’s Basis supplement infringed three patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 10,323,058; 10,189,872; and 10,233,207, all covering crystalline forms of nicotinamide riboside. After years of litigation, the case went to trial, and in August 2023 a jury found that Elysium had willfully infringed the patents and awarded W.R. Grace $3.6 million in damages.
Rather than pay the judgment and move on, Elysium pursued an affirmative defense: it argued that W.R. Grace had engaged in inequitable conduct and unclean hands before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — specifically, that Grace’s researchers had made misrepresentations about early commercial sales of the NR product during the patent prosecution process. If successful, that defense would have rendered the asserted patents unenforceable, wiping out the verdict entirely.
The Court’s Holding
Judge Gregory B. Williams rejected Elysium’s challenge on June 26, 2026, finding that Elysium had failed to prove that W.R. Grace committed inequitable conduct or unclean hands in securing its patents. The court found insufficient evidence that Grace’s representatives deliberately deceived the USPTO with intent to mislead the examiner into allowing claims that would otherwise have been rejected.
Inequitable conduct is one of the most demanding defenses in patent law: the accused infringer must show by clear and convincing evidence both that a material misrepresentation was made to the patent office and that it was done with specific intent to deceive. Unclean hands sets an even higher bar, generally requiring egregious misconduct. Judge Williams found Elysium’s evidence insufficient on both prongs.
The ruling leaves the August 2023 jury verdict of $3.6 million fully intact, along with the finding that Elysium’s infringement was willful — a finding that can support enhanced damages at the court’s discretion.
Key Takeaways
- Inequitable conduct defenses in patent cases face an extremely high evidentiary bar — general allegations that a patentee “lied” about commercial activity are rarely sufficient without specific, documented proof of intentional deception directed to the USPTO.
- A willful infringement finding, combined with a jury verdict, creates compounding litigation risk for defendants: even after trial, the threat of trebled damages under 35 U.S.C. § 284 remains live until the court issues its final damages award.
- The NR supplement patent wars are far from over: with multiple overlapping patents covering different forms and methods of NR production, competitors in the longevity supplement market face a thicket of IP exposure when formulating products containing nicotinamide riboside.
Why It Matters
The supplement industry has largely operated without significant patent enforcement, but W.R. Grace’s aggressive prosecution of its NR portfolio signals a change. Brands selling NMN, NR, or related NAD+ precursor supplements — a market that has exploded as consumers chase longevity benefits — must now treat patent clearance as a serious pre-launch requirement, not an afterthought.
For investors and entrepreneurs, the ruling is a reminder that an expensive jury loss doesn’t end the case: post-trial patent validity challenges can extend litigation for years and drive up costs even when the merits favor the patent holder. Elysium’s failure here means the $3.6 million verdict stands, and W.R. Grace may still seek enhanced damages given the willfulness finding.