Covidien announced the global launch of its Mallinckrodt TaperGuard Evac endotracheal tubes, less than two months after winning 510(k) approval from the Food & Drug Administration for the device.
The Mansfield, Mass.-based medical device giant said the device is a significant improvement over its Mallinckrodt Hi-Lo tube, as it “reduces leakage past the cuff by at least 81 percent.”
Similar device made by Boulder, Colo-based Mallinckrodt, the SealGuard and SealGuard Evac endotracheal tubes, are the subject of a patent infringement lawsuit against Covidien by Kimberly-Clark Worldwide Inc.
In July, a federal judge threw out a Kimberly-Clark motion to bar the company from selling the devices. K-C filed suit in April, alleging that the devices infringe one a patent for its Microcuff product.
Covidien posted third-quarter sales of $2.5 billion, a 3 percent decline compared with the same period last year. Covidien attributed most of the slide to poor currency exchange rates.