Pair of New Patent Lawsuits Filed in Fight for Stent Market Share

In the latest patent-infringement lawsuits concerning stents, Medtronic Inc. sued Johnson & Johnson’s Cordis unit and Cordis sued Abbott Laboratories.

Medtronic, which plans to begin selling its Endeavor stent this year in the United States, sued Johnson & Johnson in Texas. J&J’s suit, filed in a New Jersey federal court, targets Abbott’s Xience V drug-coated stent, expected to enter the U.S. market next year.

The suits, both filed Monday, are the latest skirmishes in a legal battle among four companies concerning the devices. Abbott and Medtronic are poised to challenge Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific Corp., which dominate the $5.4 billion global stent market.

For Medtronic, its new lawsuit against Cordis is the second in three months. The first was filed in March. Both suits are in federal court in Marshall, Texas, and relate to patents owned by Medtronic partner EvYsio Medical Devices ULC, a closely held company based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Medtronic and EvYsio signed an agreement in February 2006 and sued Abbott over the patents in federal court in California. Suits over the EvYsio patents between the companies also are pending in Ireland and the U.K. In France, a court blocked Abbott from selling or making its Xience stents there after finding in favor of EvYsio. The Xience stent is available elsewhere in Europe.

The suits “are somewhat typical in the sense that the companies protect their patent portfolios and are asserting their claims,” Medtronic spokesman Rob Clark said.

Stents are tiny mesh tubes inserted into arteries after a medical procedure is performed to clear blockages. A drug coating is used in some models to prevent scar tissue from forming.

Abbott sued J&J last year, seeking a court ruling that its Xience stents don’t infringe the Cordis patents. Johnson & Johnson responded with three lawsuits, including its most recent, accusing Abbott of using its patented technology without permission. The patent that’s the subject of the latest suit was issued Tuesday.

“J&J’s filing has no merit,” Abbott spokesman Scott Stoffel said. Cordis spokeswoman Mariela Melendez said the company doesn’t comment about pending litigation.

SOURCE: STAR TRIBUNE