Boston Scientific sues Conor Medsystems in Ireland

Boston Scientific has announced it is suing Conor Medsystems in Ireland for patent infringement. The company says that Conor’s CoStar paclitaxel-eluting stent infringes on a Boston Scientific balloon catheter stent. Boston Scientific asserts that the patent for this had already been defended successfully against Johnson and Johnson in the Netherlands, and that Conor has infringed on the Irish version.

One of the two largest manufacturers of coronary stents, Boston Scientific stated it would be seeking damages and an injunction to ban Conor selling the CoStar stents in Ireland. Conor, which specialises in the research and manufacturing of drug-eluting stents, has not commented on the action.

Last month, Conor announced trials for its CoStar stent in the US, in which 1,700 enrolled patients will test the effectiveness of the stent against Boston Scientific’s Taxus Express(2) paclitaxel-eluting stent.

Azin Parhizgar, chief operating officer of Conor, said: “We believe that the proprietary design of our CoStar stent provides for optimized drug delivery and may provide advantages in treating coronary artery disease.”

Last week Boston Scientific was successful in its patent infringement case in a Dutch court against Sahajanand Medical Technologies, the world’s third-largest maker of stents, according to its website. Dr William L Hunter, president and chief executive officer, described his company’s successful case as “a significant victory in a key area of our intellectual property”.

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