Another Covidien shareholder sues to block Medtronic merger

August 12, 2014 by Brad Perriello

Another Covidien shareholder yesterday sued to block the medical device company’s pending, $43 billion merger with Medtronic.

It’s at least the 2nd such lawsuit brought by a Covidien shareholder over the last month. At least 1 Medtronic shareholder has also sued to stop the deal from being consummated. Read more

Ex-Integra sales rep, manager cop to $800k hospital fraud scheme

August 13, 2014 by Brad Perriello

A pair of former salespeople for Integra LifeSciences pleaded guilty yesterday for their roles in a scheme to overbill hospitals that federal prosecutors allege bilked healthcare providers of some $800,000.

Daniel Metz, a regional manager and a product specialist, and Charles Carey, a product specialist, admitted to conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges in New Jersey, according to a press release from the U.S. attorney’s office there. Read more

Diabetes: Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson settle patent spat

August 13, 2014 by Brad Perriello

Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic agreed to a confidential settlement of a lawsuit brought by Medtronic MiniMed accusing J&J’s Animas diabetes business of infringing patents, according to a regulatory filing.

MiniMed sued Animas in May 2012, alleging that the Animas OneTouch Ping glucose management system and the IR 1250, IR 2020 and IR 2000 insulin pumps infringe 9 MiniMed patents. Although MiniMed later withdrew 2 of the patents from the suit, is pressed ahead with the case on the remaining 7 patents, seeking injunctive relief and damages, according to the filing. Read more

Stryker settles hip implant suit against J&J's DePuy

August 13, 2014 by Brad Perriello

Stryker agreed to dismiss Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics from a patent infringement lawsuit brought over Stryker’s patent for a hip implant component.

Stryker leveled the suit against DePuy and a quartet of other orthopedics rivals in November 2011, accusing the J&J division, Smith & Nephew, Wright Medical and Zimmer of violating a Stryker patent for “Acetabular Cup Assembly With Selected Bearing,” according to court documents. Read more

Appeals court reverses Medtronic's win in Lenox bone mill spat

August 11, 2014 by Arezu Sarvestani

Lenox MacLaren Surgical is dragging Medtronic back into the courtroom after an appeals court ruled that Lenox has grounds to make its case against the medical device giant.

The lawsuit, not the 1st spat between the companies, accuses Medtronic of luring Lenox into a distribution deal to create a market for bone bone mill devices, planning to supplant Lenox’s technology via a false recall and replace it with its own Midas Rex mill. Read more