A Princeton, NJ radiologist has won his lawsuit that claimed Boston Scientific’s drug-eluting stents infringe on a patent he was awarded in 1997. A jury in federal court in Texas awarded Dr. Bruce Saffran $431 million, reports the New York Times. The suit did not ask Boston Scientific to stop selling its stents. The company says it will appeal, first in post-trial motions in the Texas court, then, if necessary, at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington. It says it expects to win on appeal and has not set any money aside in case it loses.
Saffran’s patent had mainly to do with a method to heal fractures, based on controlling the flow of molecules, but it also described how the invention could be used in stents. The suit charged that Boston Scientific’s Taxus and Liberte stents are the “sheet” described in Saffran’s patent, wrapped around a stent.
