Align Tech, ClearCorrect parent co Straumann bury the hatchet, ink distro deal

Align Technology (NSDQ:ALGN) said today that it inked a deal with competitor ClearCorrect parent company Straumann Holding to settle all outstanding patent disputes between the companies.

The deal includes a $35 million payment from Switzerland-based Straumann, as well as a 5-year global distribution deal through which Straumann will distribute 5,000 of San Jose, Calif.-based Align Tech’s iTero Element scanners. The scanners will be integrated into the Straumann/Dental Wings Cares/DWOS workflow, Align Tech said in an SEC filing.

Both companies agreed to dismiss all existing patent disputes between them in both the U.S. and the UK, and Align said that Straumann’s Neodent will withdraw its invalidity action against it in Brazil.

Align Tech said that the deal also includes a clause that specifies that if the companies do not enter a development and distribution deal within 90 days of the settlement agreement’s effective date, Straumann will be required to pay Align Tech an additional $16 million in lieu of the dev and distro deal.

“This agreement brings an end to a series of patent disputes and allows both Align and Straumann to avoid the expense, uncertainty and distraction of continued litigation. We can now turn our attention to the potential of an exciting new channel for iTero scanners and a digital integration partner in Straumann, recognized as a world leader in digital dentistry,” Align Tech GC & SVP Roger George said in an SEC filing.

Straumann Group picked up clear orthodontic corrective device maker ClearCorrect in August 2017 for approximately $150 million.

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