Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) said a German court handed it a loss in its long-running patent battle over replacement heart valves with Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW).
The Fridley, Minn.-based medical device company said a court in Mannheim ruled that its CoreValve transcatheter aortic valve implant infringes the so-called Spenser patent owned by Edwards.
The decision means Medtronic must pull its TAVI device, acquired for $700 million in April 2009 when it bought CoreValve, from the German market, according to a press release.
Medtronic "respectfully disagrees with the court’s decision and intends to appeal. The court’s decision will limit options for physicians and their patients who need transcatheter aortic valve procedures, which Medtronic believes is contrary to sound health policy," according to the release.
CoreValve sales in Germany accounted for less than 0.5% of Medtronic’s total fiscal 2013 revenues, according to the release. That works out to roughly $83 million, not enough to materially affect fiscal 2014 results, Medtronic said.
"In fiscal year 2014, the company continues to expect full-year revenue growth in the range of 3% to 4% on a constant currency basis and diluted EPS in the range of $3.80 to $3.85," according to the release. "These actions have no impact in any market on the Medtronic Engager Transcatheter Valve, the Melody Pulmonic Transcatheter Valve, or any other Medtronic product."
“We are very pleased with the court’s ruling. Edwards will continue to vigorously enforce our intellectual property to ensure continued innovation in the treatment of patients with severe aortic stenosis,” said Larry Wood, vice president for Edwards’ transcatheter heart valves division, in prepared remarks.
Back in 2010 Medtronic won a round in another German court in its battle with Edwards, after the Appellate Court of Düsseldorf upheld a lower court’s ruling that the CoreValve device does not infringe on the German Sapien patent.
