Updated to clarify that Boston Scientific initiated the initial litigation against Edwards, instead of the reverse.
Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) this week updated on a slew of European patent spats between itself and Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) over heart valves, expecting to hear responses from both German and U.K. courts within the 1st half of 2017.
Boston Scientific originally filed a suit against Edwards in Germany based on a European patent related to the outer sealing skirt of the Sapien 3, an Edwards spokesperson told MassDevice.com in an email. The patent was issued to Boston Scientific after Edwards launched the Sapien 3 valve in Europe, and in response, Edwards challenged the patent and asserted patents of its own.
Edwards filed a statement in response to Boston Scientific’s Nov. 2015 suit, saying they believed the suit “based on a European patent issued very recently is without merit,” according to the spokesperson.
Edwards said it filed a lawsuit against Sadra Medical and Boston Scientific on Nov. 2, 2015, seeking to invalidate and revoke patents related to heart valve technology. Boston Scientific and its subsidiaries filed counterclaims, alleging that Edwards Sapien 3 infringed upon their own patents.
Suits were filed in both Germany and the U.K. over the patents, the company said. The U.K. trial over the patents was held in January, and the company is expecting a decision in the 1st half of 2017.
The company said that a German trial was held on the patent issues this month, and that it expects a response from the German district court during the 1st quarter of 2017, according to an SEC filing.
“We are disappointed that Boston Scientific has resorted to legal action in this matter, rather than sharing our focus on creating value through innovative therapies and enabling treatment for patients around the world,” Edwards Lifesciences wrote in its response.
Last November, a federal judge in Massachusetts added $21 million to the $70 million Neovasc (NSDQ:NVCN) owes Edwards Lifesciences subsidiary CardiAQ Valve in their spat over replacement heart valve technology.
A jury in May awarded $70 million to CardiAQ after finding that Neovasc misappropriated trade secrets in developing its Tiara transcatheter mitral valve replacement device. Edwards inherited the lawsuit when it acquired CardiAQ Valve for $400 million in August 2015.
