ParfumGigi@aol.com
21 février, 2008 13:59
Judge Ups Damages in Stent Patent Case to $501 Million
Mark Jewell
The Associated Press
02-19-2008
A patent judgment against Boston Scientific Corp. has jumped to $501 million after a judge tacked on an additional $69 million in interest.
U.S. District Judge John Ward ruled Thursday to expand the damages award -- decided by a federal jury in Marshall, Texas -- to cover interest on royalties dating to the medical device maker's 2004 U.S. launch of drug-coated heart stents.
Heart stents are tiny, mesh-wire tubes that prop open coronary arteries after they have been surgically cleared of fatty plaque.
After deliberating less than two hours, jurors awarded $432 million on Monday to Dr. Bruce Saffran, who argued the stents violated his 1997 patent covering technology to deliver medication within the body to heal injuries.
Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific recorded a $365 million charge against its fourth-quarter earnings to cover potential losses due to stent patent litigation. The company said on Tuesday that it didn't expect to record an additional charge for the new verdict, because it expected Ward or an appeals court would overturn the jury award.
Company spokesman Paul Donovan declined further comment Friday. Shares of Boston Scientific rose 24 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $12.81.
Boston Scientific and a unit of Johnson & Johnson dominate the market for newer-model stents coated with drugs released to prevent post-surgical scar tissue from creating new blockages.
Saffran, a radiologist from Princeton, N.J., filed a similar patent challenge against Johnson & Johnson over its Cypher stent. That case is pending in Ward's court, an East Texas district that is a popular venue to bring patent claims.
Saffran's award involving Boston Scientific covers only past royalties. The judge also ordered that the question of future royalties be split into a separate case after the doctor files a new complaint covering that issue. Ward ordered Boston Scientific to file quarterly reports with the court on sales of its top-selling product, the Taxus Express stent, and the next-generation Taxus Liberte.
