Minerva Surgical Claims Patent Infringement Against Hologic

Minerva Surgical, Redwood City, Calif., has filed suit in federal court in San Francisco claiming patent infringement by Hologic, of Marlborough, Mass., for its endometrial ablation device.

Minerva hopes to block U.S. sales of Hologic’s endometrial ablation system, which also uses radiofrequency energy to remove endothelial tissue. Hologic began selling its NovaSure Advanced system in the U.S. in February. The company launched the device in Europe, Canada, and Australia in 2016.

Minerva’s rival device, called Aurora, won FDA pre-market approval in 2015 but the company has not yet launched the service.