Medtronic hit with $106.5 million U.S. verdict in heart-valve patent case

[February 10, 2023]  By Blake Brittain

(Reuters) - A unit of medical device maker Medtronic plc must pay $106.5 million to competitor Colibri Heart Valve LLC for patent infringement, a Santa Ana, California federal jury said Wednesday.

The jury concluded after a seven-day trial that Medtronic CoreValve LLC's Evolut devices violate a Colibri patent for replacing heart valves in patients with heart disease, representatives for the companies confirmed Thursday.

A spokesperson for Medtronic said the Minneapolis-headquartered company strongly disagrees with the verdict and will appeal. An attorney for Colibri said it is "honored" by the jury's "recognition of Colibri's valuable contribution to the treatment of heart disease."

Colorado-based Colibri sued Medtronic in 2020. It alleged doctors use Medtronic's devices in a way that infringes Colibri's patent, which covers a method for controlling the deployment of self-expanding artificial heart valves.

The patent relates to Colibri's own heart-valve implant system. Colibri said in the lawsuit that company officials met with Medtronic about the inventions in 2014 and sent a PowerPoint presentation about the patents to Medtronic in 2018.

U.S. dollar banknotes are displayed in this illustration taken, February 14, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

The case is Colibri Heart Valve LLC v. Medtronic CoreValve LLC, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 8:20-cv-00847.

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)

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