Boston Scientific gets whacked for $250 million in ED Texas

In yet another chapter in the stent patent wars, a jury in Marshall, Texas (ED Texas) has awarded Medtronic damages of $250 million for patent infringement by Boston Scientific.

Mass High Tech reported: The U.S. District Court jury in Marshall, Texas, found that certain Boston Scientific balloon catheters and stent delivery systems infringe on patents held by Minnesota-based Medtronic, and that the patents are valid. Boston Scientific previously had received a couple of wins from the court, as it granted the company's summary judgment motion on one of the patents and dismissed Medtronic's claim of willful infringement.

Of the bigger picture of the stent wars, the WSJ wrote:

The companies are embroiled in suits to prevent competitors from introducing new stents and to claim royalties on each other's devices. Boston Scientific, alone, is involved in more than 15 pending patent lawsuits.

In addition, the legitimacy of some of Medtronic's devices under patent law is being challenged in litigation in federal district court in Delaware.

Medtronic said its new Endeavor drug-coated stent, the focus of part of that litigation, has engendered $81 million in sales in the roughly four months it has been on the market.

See many previous posts on IPBiz, including:

http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2008/05/another-day-in-stent-patent-wars.html