W.L. Gore & Assoc. claimed a win in its patent war with St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) over heart defect repair technology, after a federal judge in Minnesota dismissed the suit.
AGA Medical sued Gore in 2010, months before its $1.03 billion buyout by St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ), accusing Gore of violating a patent with its Helex septal occluder. The device is an implant designed to treat a structural heart defects and competes with the Amplatzer device made by AGA/St. Jude.
In July Judge Joan Ericksen of the U.S. District Court for Minnesota dismissed the lawsuit, but her opinion remained sealed until August 6. Ericksen ruled that AGA failed to prove that the Helex device infringes the patent by using the court’s claim construction that the patent covers the "means for securing said device to a delivery system" – specifically, that an infringing device must include a clamp with a threaded bore, according to court documents.
"AGA has not directed the court to any evidence that raises a genuine issue of material
fact as to whether the Helex septal occluder has either a clamp having a threaded bore or the
equivalent of a clamp having a threaded bore," Ericksen wrote.
"The Gore Helex septal occluder has more than 13 years of successful clinical experience for treatment of atrial septal defects and was the first transcatheter device of its kind to use soft expanded polytetrafluoroethylene patch material with a minimal wire frame," Gore Medical Products associate Stuart Broyles said in prepared remarks. "We obtained four U.S. Patents related to this innovation (U.S. Patents 5,879,366; 6,080,182; 6,171,329; and 6,623,508). We are happy with Judge Ericksen’s decision and are committed to continue to protect our innovations and invest in innovative medical device products to improve patient outcomes."
"St. Jude Medical is disappointed with the Court’s ruling and we are examining our options," a St. Jude Medical spokeswoman told MassDevice.com via email.
St. Paul-based St. Jude bought its Amplatzer technology, along with AGA Medical, for $1.03 billion in 2010.