Federal prosecutors tapped Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) for documents on its neurostimulation business, according to a regulatory filing.
Medtronic said it received a subpoena from the U.S. attorney for western New York “relating to the Company’s sales, marketing, and reimbursement support practices regarding certain neurostimulation devices,” according to the filing with the federal Securities & Exchange Commission.
It’s the 15th probe of the Fridley, Minn.-based medical device monolith since 2005, according to the filing, including interrogatives from healthcare hawk Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and subpoenas from the attorneys general in California and New Jersey. Medtronic, which posted an $11 million charge “related to probable and reasonably estimated damages in connection with these subpoenas in the second quarter of fiscal year 2011, said it is cooperating fully with the latest demand.
“We have no comment beyond what we state in the filing,” spokesman Brian Henry told the Bloomberg news service via e-mail.
The company also announced CE Mark approval in the European Union for its CoreValve aortic valve replacement to be delivered via catheter through the subclavian artery. Medtronic spent about $700 million buying Irvine, Calif.-based CoreValve Inc. last year.
In September, Medtronic won CE Mark approval for the device. In October, the Food & Drug Administration approved a clinical trial of the device, which it has yet to clear for the U.S. market.
