Medtronic, Abbott settle patent litigation over stents

Press release (MarketWatch) on July 27: Medtronic Inc. said Monday, July 27 that it has resolved all outstanding intellectual-property litigation with Abbott Laboratories As part of the agreement, Medtronic will pay $400 milion to Abbott and $42 million to evYsio Medical Devices LLC. The medical-technology company said that under terms of the settlement, neither party will sue the other in the field of coronary stent and stent-delivery systems for at least 10 years, subject to certain conditions.

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WSJ noted the "stent wars" aspect of things:

The new agreement follows deals Medtronic reached earlier this year to resolve stent-patent disputes with both Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), its other two big stent rivals. The market for the tiny artery scaffolds has sparked a litigious sideshow involving patent scrapes that can run on for years and that, when they finally reach a conclusion, can prove costly.

Medtronic said it has now resolved or settled "substantially all" intellectual property litigation regarding the design and delivery of stents, including bare-metal and medicated versions.

"As a result, Medtronic will now focus more resources on efforts to improve health care for patients with vascular disease," the company said in a statement.

Medtronic still has a stent-related intellectual property dispute with drug-maker Wyeth (WYE) that concerns the medication coated on Medtronic's "Endeavor" stent. Medtronic, which pays Abbott royalties for access to that coating, is indemnified from Wyeth's infringement claim, a Medtronic spokesman said.

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