Medtronic triggers Wyeth, J&J suit
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Wyeth and Johnson & Johnson have reacted to the FDA approval of Medtronic's Endeavor drug-eluting stent (DES) by filing suit against the product. The companies allege that the Endeavor DES, which was approved in February (see Clinica No 1293, p 1), infringes on three patents owned by Wyeth and licensed to J&J. Wyeth's patents - numbers '781, '146 and '728 - relate to the use of rapamycin or sirolimus in stents for patients undergoing angioplasty and vascular disease procedures. Medtronic's DES uses zotarolimus, an analogue of rapamycin and sirolimus. The lawsuit has asked the District Court of New Jersey to block Medtronic from selling the Endeavor DES in the US.