Medical device maker OrbusNeich announced that it filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Ireland against Boston Scientific (BSX 5.68%) and two of its Irish subsidiaries. The suit is related to certain novel stent designs. Orbus previously filed lawsuits against Boston Scientific in Germany and the Netherlands, and also filed one in the U.S. in 2009, but that case is stayed pending a re-examination of the patents by the U.S. Patent Office.
The lawsuit alleges that Boston Scientific infringes two European patents, the 412 and the 482, with its coronary stent systems, including the Promus Element, Promus Element Plus, Omega, Taxus, Synergy, and Promus Premier lines of stents. Boston Scientific generated $1.36 billion in worldwide sales of coronary stent systems in 2012, or approximately 19% of its total net sales.
OrbusNeich's CEO Al Novak said, "The lawsuit in Ireland is a continuation of our efforts to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights. We intend to vigorously pursue these efforts to prevent unlawful competitive practices and protect our unique technologies throughout the world."
OrbusNeich received a favorable ruling from the European Patent Office last month for the 482 patent, which covers certain novel stents with helical structures. After being sued, Boston Scientific moved to have the patents declared invalid, but OrbusNeich amended the claim to more clearly identify the scope of its novel helical stents, and the EPO upheld the patent as novel and inventive over the prior art.
OrbusNeich is seeking damages and an injunction prohibiting Boston Scientific from manufacturing and selling stents that infringe the patents in Ireland.
