A patent infringement lawsuit filed against Endologix Inc. (NSDQ:ELGX) by C.R. Bard Inc. (NYSE:BCR) isn’t stopping Endologix from pursuing opportunities to develop its expanded polytetrafluoroethylene stent graft technology.
Irvine, Calif.-based Endologix signed a deal to license a Canadian firm’s balloon expandable stent technology, saying it plans to integrate the technology into its Powerlink stent graft.
The company said the development agreement and exclusive license with Evasc Medical Systems Corp. of Vancouver, B.C., will see it incorporate Evasc’s patented cobalt chromium stent, which is pre-mounted on a balloon catheter.
Endologix said it will cover the stent with a coating made of for a fenestrated stent graft device it’s developing to treat short neck and juxtarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms as part of the Powerlink system.
The ePTFE coating is the subject of a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Bard against Endologix and Atrium Medical Corp. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Arizona, accuses Endologix and Atrium of infringing Bard’s patent for a “Prosthetic Vascular Graft.” Bard alleges that Atrium’s Advanta line of grafts and stents, its iVena vascular patch and Flixene graft violate the patent and that Endologix runs afoul with the Powerlink.
Bard and Endologix have some history regarding ePTFE graft material: After Endologix won Food & Drug Administration approval to begin making the plastic on its own, it canceled a supply deal with Bard in December 2007, according to a press release. Endologix said it plans a vigorous defense against the suit.
