Business Bites: Medtronic wins major EU victory over Edwards, while Infuse cloud looms
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
You win some, you lose some. And in the long-running patent wrangle between Medtronic and Edwards Lifesciences, bitter rivals in the transcatheter aortic valve implant (TAVI) market, it was definitely a victory for Medtronic when the European Patent Office this week invalidated in its entirety Edwards’ Spenser patent. This key patent was the basis for a prior injunction last year that prohibited Medtronic from selling its CoreValve system in Germany. Edwards is said to be appealing this judgement; in the meantime, this ruling removes a significant barrier for Medtronic and helps to buffer the blow it was dealt by the US court earlier this year. In January, a US federal jury found that Medtronic’s CoreValve wilfully infringed Edwards’ patents.