Boston Scientific Wins 14-year NIR Stent Patent Case Against J&J

Medical devices maker Boston Scientific announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that its NIR Stent did not infringe Johnson &Johnson 's Fischell patent held by its subsidiary Cordis Corp.

"We are pleased with the decision and will continue to manage our litigation risks as part of our continuing effort to reduce our exposure," said Tim Pratt, Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel for Boston Scientific.

The Judge ruled in favor of Boston Scientific in the 1998 patent infringement suit involving Johnson & Johnson. The original suit was filed in 1997.

In October 2008, the U.S. District Court Judge had awarded Johnson & Johnson damages in the amount of $406.7 million and pre-judgment interest in the amount of $296.1 million in the case involving the patent owned by Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific's NIR stent product. Boston Scientific said it will appeal the judgment.

The NIR stent was developed and is manufactured by Medinol, Jerusalem, Israel. Boston Scientific has an exclusive worldwide license to market and distribute the NIR stent.

The dispute was concerning to technology for balloon-expandable stents, which help doctors treat coronary heart disease.

J&J's Cordis, which specializes in the development and manufacture of interventional vascular technology, said in June that it will discontinue its clinical development program for the Nevo Sirolimus-eluting coronary stent in order to focus on other cardiovascular therapies where significant patient need exists.