Stent Suit Settled
October 19th, 2009 | No Comments | Source: Wall Street JournalBoston Scientific Corp. has agreed to cut a $716 million check to Johnson & Johnson to settle more than a dozen patent infringement lawsuits, including one in which a judge had already ruled in favor of J&J.
The settlement wraps up all but 3 stent-related lawsuits involving the two companies. Stents are cage-like metal struts that prop open partially blocked arteries.
Stents are most frequently used in the coronary arteries, but they can be used in other arteries as well.
The market for cardiac stents now exceeds $4 billion. Boston Scientific leads the pack in this field, but J&J owns the original patents on the medical devices after acquiring them from Julio Palmaz, the radiologist who invented them.
Nine years ago, a judge ruled that a Boston Scientific stent known as the NIR infringed on one of J&J’s patents. Boston Scientific appealed, but announced last year that it expected to fork over more than $700 million to settle the claim. That includes interest dating from the original verdict.
Boston Scientific announced it will pay the settlement from cash holdings, which amounted to $1.2 billion as of last June.
The market for stents has leveled off in recent years after studies showed they weren’t that effective in many instances, and other studies raised concerns about bleeding from the anti-platelet therapy that is normally prescribed after stents are placed.
The J&J settlement comes shortly after Boston Scientific settled separate stent-related claims with Medtronic. For its part, Medtronic recently paid $400 million to Abbott Laboratories to settle a patent infringement case regarding…you guessed it, stents.




He added that the skullduggery was a factor in prompting his decision to review the FDA’s 510 (k) program, which fast-tracks approval of medical devices by requiring less rigorous clinical testing than the standard process.
world-wide revenues derives from the sale of medical devices and diagnostic equipment.
The events undermined the Agency’s ability to “counter the suggestion that lobbying on behalf of ReGen affected the decision,” according to the report which was obtained by the
The case could have far-reaching implications for the medical device industry. It is one reason why the FDA has undertaken a comprehensive review of the 510 (k) program which fast-tracks approval of medical devices by requiring less rigorous clinical testing before approval is granted.
Here’s an idea that might not be too hard to swallow. Proteus Biomedical, a Silicon Valley start-up has developed a tiny microchip that can be attached to pills and
Republican Senator Charles Grassley has been all over the medical device industry for years. Why just a month ago he called out the University of Wisconsin in the
The public is clamoring for transparency,” Kohl said of the Physician Payments Sunshine Act.
His disclosure was consistent with university policies which do not require scientists to specify the amount received if it exceeds $20,000.
“Clearly there is a big difference between $20,000 and $20 million,” Golden told the Journal.
Years ago, Medtronic employees accused the company of inducing surgeons to use its spinal devices with perks and payoffs. In 2006, Medtronic paid $40 million to settle the allegations. As part of the settlement, employees dropped their claims and Medtronic denied unlawful behavior.











