Say hello to MassDevice +3, a bite-sized view of the top three medtech stories of the day. This feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our 3 biggest and most influential stories from the day’s news to make sure you’re up to date on the headlines that continue to shape the medical device industry.

 

3. Mirowski wants another bite at Supreme Court apple in Medtronic lawsuit

Mirowski Family Ventures wants the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit its patent battle against Medtronic, asking the high court to reverse an appeals court ruling that Medtronic did not infringe defibrillator patents licensed by MFV to Boston Scientific.

In January the Supremes ruled unanimously that MFV must prove that Medtronic’s devices are in violation, even though Medtronic filed the original challenge against the patent in 2003, while still under a sub-license agreement for the technology. Read more

2. Docs perform 1st U.S. tricuspid valve replacement using TAVI device

Physicians at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit last month became the 1st in the U.S. to use a minimally invasive technique to replace a failing tricuspid valve.

The team used a transcatheter aortic valve implant in the procedure, after the patient was turned down at 1 major medical center and doctors at another said her only option was a heart transplant. Read more

1. Amid political noise, Ishrak seeks to reassure employees on Medtronic-Covidien deal

Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak sought to spread oil on the waters of controversy surrounding Medtronic’s proposed $43 billion merger with Covidien, telling employees that the companies are well along in their integration planning and working to educate legislators and the public on the pending union’s rationale.

One aspect of the deal, a so-called tax inversion, would see Medtronic shift its corporate domicile from the U.S. to Covidien’s base in Ireland, thereby lowering Medtronic’s overall tax burden and freeing up cash generated overseas. That has raised hackles among both Republicans and Democrats, with the former using it to advocate for corporate tax reform and the latter seeking to ban inversions outright. Read more