Courts in Germany and the United Kingdom have ruled that Edwards Lifesciences infringed on patents related to Boston Scientific’s transcatheter heart valves.
Boston Scientific announced the rulings in a news release on March 9.
The rulings pertain to Boston Scientific’s Lotus valve system, a transcatheter heart valve used in patients with severe aortic stenosis who are at high risk for surgical aortic valve replacement. The Lotus valve is not currently available for use or sale, according to Boston Scientific.
A district court in Düsseldorf, Germany ruled that Edwards Lifesciences’ Sapien 3 transcatheter heart valve infringed on three patents, but Boston Scientific said the European Patent Office would likely revoke one of the patents. Edwards said it plans on requesting an appeal of the decision.
Earlier this month, a court in England also ruled in favor of Boston Scientific and said Edwards Lifesciences infringed upon a patent. Edwards said it would appeal the decision, as well.
Edwards said the Sapien 3 would still be commercially available. The company also said it would not update its financial guidance for 2017.
“We will continue to protect our intellectual property to ensure we can continue to bring forward innovative technologies that make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients,” Tim Pratt, Boston Scientific’s chief administrative officer and general counsel, said in a news release. “We are pleased with the progress we are making with litigation in Europe, and believe the strength of our intellectual property will also be upheld in U.S. cases involving the same patents.”
Executive Editor
Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.