A jury has found SurgiQuest, a subsidiary of Conmed Corp., liable for a total of $12.2 million in damages related to false advertising claims. Conmed said it will try to appeal the verdict.

Amanda Pedersen

False advertising is a costly offense - just ask SurgiQuest Inc.

A jury has found the Milford, CT-based subsidiary of Conmed Corp., liable for a total of $12.2 million in damages ($10 million in punitive damages, and $2.2 million in compensatory damages) related to the false advertising of its AirSeal access port system.

The case stems from litigation that began in 2013 between SurgiQuest and Lexion Medical LLC, which Utica, NY-based Conmed acquired in connection with its acquisition of SurgiQuest.

"While we are disappointed in the jury's verdict, we intend to pursue all post-trial and appellate remedies," said Daniel Jonas, Conmed's executive vice president of legal affairs, and general counsel.

Jonas said the jury verdict will not impact the availability of the AirSeal access port of the AirSeal Ifs unit, nor will it impact Conmed's ability to distribute the devices.

The AirSeal has been used in more than 600,000 surgeries to date, according to Curt Hartman, president and CEO of Conmed. He added that the products provide "the only integrated access management system for robotic and laparoscopic surgery on the global market."

Amanda Pedersen is Qmed's news editor. Contact her at [email protected].