Category: Drug-Eluting Stents
Drug-Eluting Stents
Johnson & Johnson appeals a federal court's ruling that four of its Cordis Corp. stent patents are invalid in an infringement case against Boston Scientific.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) appealed a federal judge's ruling that four of its Cordis Corp. subsidiary's drug-eluting stent patents are invalid, the latest salvo in its long-running infringement battle with Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX).
The patents in question are at the heart of complicated legal wrangling involving the Natick, Mass.-based medical device giant, its New Brunswick, N.J.-based rival and its competitor/partner Abbott (NYSE:ABT). The dispute centers around Boston Scientific's Promus stent, a private-label version of Abbott's Xience V stent, and the Cordis Cypher.
Boston Scientific Corp. will pay Johnson & Johnson more than $1.7 billion to settle four patent disputes over their cardiovascular stent lines.
Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) will pay Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) $1.725 billion to settle a quartet of patent infringement lawsuits concerning the companies' lines of cardiovascular stents.
The Natick, Mass.-based medical devices monolith agreed to the settlement, which calls for it to pay J&J $1 billion today and the rest in about a year, said it plans to post a $745 million letter of credit to cover the $725 million balance and interest. The deal won't have "an appreciable impact" on Boston Scientific's debt covenants, according to a press release, and will leave BSX with "significant liquidity" under its credit facilities.
Fourth-quarter and full-year sales for Abbott's vascular medical device segment rose 9 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
Abbott (NYSE:ABT) reported strong sales for its vascular medical devices business, which posted double-digit growth during 2009 and rose 9.1 percent to $723 million during the fourth quarter, including the effects of foreign exchange rates.
The Chicago-area medical device monolith's overall sales rose 10.6 percent to $8.79 billion during the three months ended Dec. 31. For the full year, total sales reached $30.77 billion, a 4.2 percent increase when exchange rates were taken into account.
A federal judge in Delaware declared invalid a quartet of Johnson & Johnson's Cordis Corp. subsidiary's patents for drug-eluting stents, canceling a trial set for next month in a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Boston Scientific.
Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) won the latest round in its long-running patent war with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) when a federal judge declared invalid a quartet of J&J subsidiary Cordis Corp's. patents for drug-eluting stents.
The patents in question are at the heart of complicated legal wrangling involving the Natick, Mass.-based medical device giant, its new Brunswick, N.J.-based rival, Abbott (NYSE:ABT) and Wyeth. The dispute centers around Boston Scientific's Promus stent, a private-label version of Abbott's Xience V stent, and the Cordis Cypher.
Cordis Corp. wins the toss and will defend the Cypher drug-eluting stent on its home turf in New Jersey in a patent infringement case against Boston Scientific Corp. and Abbott Laboratories.
A federal judge this week sided with Cordis and fellow plaintiff Wyeth, now part of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), transfering a suit seeking to invalidate a patent co-owned by the two companies from the U.S. District Court for Minnesota to New Jersey. The suit was bought by Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) as part of their defense against a suit alleging the Xience V and Promus drug-eluting stents infringe on the Cypher stent made by Cordis.
The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare gave the green light for Abbott to bring its Xience V drug-eluting stent to market in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Abbott (NYSE:ABT) won approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for its Xience V drug-eluting stent.
Abbot said it plans to bring the device to market as soon as it receives final reimbursement authorization from Japanese officials.
The Chicago-based medical device and pharmaceuticals giant also touted the publication of the results from the Compare clinical trial demonstrating that the Xience V everolimus-eluting stent is superior to Boston Scientific Corp.'s (NYSE:BSX) Taxus line of paclitaxel-eluting stents. The study results were first released at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics conference in San Francisco last September.
Boston Scientific Corp. is the latest industry giant to enroll a patient in a worldwide trial examining the use of drug-eluting stents and blood thinning drugs.
Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) enrolled its first patient in a worldwide trial examining the use of blood thinners in conjunction with drug-eluting stents, joining a trio of other industry giants and their pharmaceutical partners in the study.
Participating in the four-year DAPT Study are Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific, manufacturer of the Taxus and Promus stents, along with device makers Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and Cordis Corp., the stents arm of healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). Drug-makers Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY), Sanofi Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:SNY), Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY) and Daiichi-Sankyo Company Ltd. (TYO:4568) also have signed on for the study.
