Boston wins second round of stent patent skirmish with Medtronic:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Shares in Boston Scientific ended last week on the rise after a US court of appeals upheld a previous ruling that found the Natick, Massachusetts company not guilty of infringing patents owned by its arch rival Medtronic. The latter had filed the appeal following a trial in January 2005 when a district court judge ruled that Boston's Taxus Express, Express and NIR stents did not infringe four of Medtronic's patents as claimed by the Minneapolis, Minnesota firm (see Clinica No 1140, p 13). The news led to a 3% rise in Boston's share price, closing at $20.47 last Friday (May 26) while Medtronic's shares dipped 1% to close at $50.26.