Volcano loses round in FFR war with St. Jude Medical
March 3, 2014 by Brad Perriello
Volcano (NSDQ:VOLC) this month agreed to stipulate that St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) isn’t infringing a pair of its fractional flow reserve patents, but vowed to appeal a federal judge’s interpretation of the patents’ claims.
Volcano sued St. Jude in a Delaware federal court in April 2013, alleging infringement of a pair of patents covering its PrimeWire FFR device by St. Jude’s competing PressureWire Certus and Aeris devices. The FFR devices are designed to measure arterial blood pressure.
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Boston Scientific legal update: Pelvic mesh looms, Guidant makes progress
March 4, 2014 by Arezu Sarvestani
Massachusetts medical device giant Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) has dozen of legal irons in the fire at any given moment, some making forward progress while others cast an ominous shadow.
In the company’s most recent 10-k annual report BSX provided updates on its most pressing legal issues, noting ever-increasing interest in lawsuits over the company’s transvaginal mesh, some progress in a class action lawsuit over subsidiary Guidant’s implants and a new jab from rival Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) over controversial renal denervation technology.
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Medtronic tallies 700 patient lawsuits over Infuse | MassDevice.com On Call
March 5, 2014 by Arezu Sarvestani
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) is mired in some 700 lawsuits over its Infuse bone growth protein, representing complaints from about 1,000 patients, the company revealed in recent regulatory filings.
Medtronic provided few details on those lawsuits, but company spokeswoman Cindy Resman told reporters that the lawsuits are still in early phases and that Medtronic has not been found liable in any, MedPage Today reported. Some lawsuits have been dismissed and others are pending in a limited fashion, according to the report, but it’s likely that more are on the way. Read more
Valor Medical and execs plead guilty to concealing device toxicity from FDA
March 6, 2014 by Arezu Sarvestani
California biotech company Valor Medical, 4 executives and a consultant admitted to the Dept. of Justice that they concealed information about their Neucrylate diagnostic assay, hiding toxicity reports that were required as the product was undergoing FDA premarket review.
Valor pled guilty to felony charges of failing to provide required information and was ordered to pay $250,000 at a rate of $50,000 per year, with the 1st payment due last month. The company was also given 5 years’ probation, according to court documents. Read more
Ex-Spectranetics CEO's conviction stands
March 5, 2014 by Brad Perriello
Former Spectranetics (NSDQ:SPNC) CEO John Schulte’s 2012 conviction on a single count of lying to federal investigators survived his appeal to an appeals court, meaning his sentence of a year’s probation will stand.
Schulte was convicted in March 2012 for his role in the allegedly illegal importation of medical devices for a clinical trial and sentenced later that year. Read more
