Boston Scientific to Pay $716 Mill. to J&J in Legal Settlement

In a multimillion-dollar settlement, Boston Scientific (Natick, MA, USA) has agreed to compensate Johnson & Johnson (J&J; New Brunswick, NJ, USA) over patent claims.

The announced settlement, amounting to US$716 million, substantially resolves Boston Scientific's legal obligation to J&J after 12 years of lawsuits over conflicting patent claims about stents used in interventional cardiology. The settlement resolves 14 lawsuits between the two companies, with possibly 3 more lawsuits remaining unsettled. The settlement also includes patents and cross-licenses between the companies.

Also pending is a court win in which Boston Scientific was favored in a patent verdict against J&J. The amount of the judgment, however, is not known at this time.

Major stent manufacturers, among them Abbott and Medtronic, have filed patent lawsuits against each other, some of which have been settled to date. Earlier in 2009, Boston Scientific has also settled a patent claim lawsuit with Medtronic.

Boston Scientific leads the stent market with $4 billion in annual sales.

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