ST. PAUL, Minn., St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Volcano Corporation for patent infringement. The suit, which involves five St. Jude Medical patents and seeks injunctive relief and monetary damages, was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
The patent infringement lawsuit alleges that several products distributed by Volcano, including its PrimeWire(TM) pressure guide wire products, infringe on key patents used for the St. Jude Medical PressureWire(R) technology platform, which was acquired from Radi Medical Systems AB in December 2008. The PressureWire interventional technology measures Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR), which is an index used to evaluate the severity of blood flow blockages in the heart. FFR measurements enable interventional cardiologists to better determine the most effective treatment option for their patients during coronary interventions.
St. Jude Medical Systems AB, previously known as Radi Medical Systems AB, is the owner of the entire right, title, and interest in and to each of the five patents involved and is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Two other St. Jude Medical affiliates are also plaintiffs.
"St. Jude Medical has made significant investments in the interventional cardiology space, including the coronary assessment and more recently the coronary imaging markets," said Frank Callaghan, president of the St. Jude Medical Cardiovascular Division. "From clinical research to important product advancements, Radi Medical Systems and now St. Jude Medical have contributed considerably to the success of this marketplace. As a company that values the innovations we bring to the marketplace, we intend to protect our intellectual property."
The former Radi Medical Systems AB and now St. Jude Medical have invested millions of dollars in landmark clinical trials, such as the FAME (Fractional flow reserve (FFR) vs. Angiography in Multivessel Evaluation) study, that demonstrated superior clinical and cost-effective outcomes of FFR-guided treatment.
The patent lawsuit initiated today follows St. Jude Medical's recent acquisition of LightLab Imaging, Inc., which is already engaged in litigation against Volcano and its wholly owned subsidiary Axsun Technologies, Inc., a supplier to LightLab. LightLab is a pioneer and leader in the development of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) used in coronary imaging procedures. Earlier this year, a jury in the Superior Court of Massachusetts, Suffolk County, reached a verdict against Volcano and Axsun Technologies.
Source: St. Jude Medical, Inc.