|
 The agreement ends years of disputes between the two
companies over patents on the technology for implanting artificial
heart valves in a less-invasive procedure than traditional
open-heart surgery.
Medtronic said it will give Edwards a one-time payment of $750
million, plus ongoing royalty payments through April 2022, based on
a percentage of CoreValve sales. The payments are to be no less than
$40 million a year.
Medtronic received U.S. regulatory approval in January to sell its
CoreValve system for replacing diseased aortic heart valves in
patients considered too frail for open-heart surgery. It became the
first device maker to compete against Edwards' Sapien valve.
Both companies' implants use a minimally invasive approach to valve
replacement that spares patients from open-heart surgery in which
the chest bone is separated.
In April, a U.S. court issued an injunction that would have stopped
Medtronic from selling CoreValve. The injunction was later stayed
while an appeals court reviewed the case.
Earlier court decisions had found that CoreValve infringed Edwards'
Sapien product.
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Under the settlement announced Tuesday, Medtronic and Edwards agreed
to dismiss all litigation between them in a cross-licensing
arrangement.
(Reporting by Susan Kelly in Chicago; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
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