Dr. Bruce Saffran added another corporate scalp to his trophy shelf, winning a $482 million verdict in a patent infringement suit against Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary Cordis Corp. over stent technology.
Saffran, a New Jersey physician who owns the patent for "Method and Apparatus for Managing Macromolecular Distribution," also won a $432 million verdict against Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) in 2008. The win over Cordis involves that company’s Cypher drug-eluting stent.
Cordis said it’s " disappointed" in the verdict and plans to ask Judge T. John Ward of the U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas to toss the verdict and, if that bid fails, take the case to an appeals court.
Saffran sued Boston Scientific in 2005, accusing the company of infringement via its Taxus stent. A Texas jury agreed and awarded $432 million to Saffran.
BSX appealed the decision and the two sides settled in March 2009. Boston Scientific logged a $50 million pre-tax charge during the first quarter of 2009 due to the settlement, according to a filing with the federal Securities & Exchange Commission.
