Johnson & Johnson Slapped With Injunction In Covidien Patent Case...

A federal district court granted a preliminary injunction sought by Covidien against a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson related to the alleged infringement of three surgical device patents held by Covidien.

The decision by the U.S. District Court in Connecticut prevents J&J’s unit Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc. from making, marketing, and selling the ultrasonic surgical tool Harmonic ACE+7 Shears.

 “Covidien operates within a highly competitive global health care environment. We are pleased that the court has recognized the value of our intellectual property. As demonstrated by our actions, we will vigorously protect our innovative products, solutions and intellectual property,” Chris Barry, president, Advanced Surgical, Covidien said.

J&J said it would appeal the court’s decision, and pointed out that the suit does not involve Harmonic ACE+7’s adaptive tissue technology, which the company says is the product’s innovative feature, according to the WSJ report.

In the suit filed against Ethicon in June, Covidien alleged that the J&J subsidiary’s Harmonic ACE+7 infringed on three U.S. patents, namely 6,063,050, 6,468,286, and 6,682,544. Covidien said that the same court had earlier ruled that the patents were infringed by other Ethicon surgical ultrasonic devices.

The federal court in Connecticut has previously recognized the value of Covidien’s intellectual property in this area and, with this new lawsuit, we will continue to vigorously protect both our innovations and intellectual property,” Lawrence Weiss, vice president and general counsel, Surgical Solutions, Covidien, said.

USFDA CDRH Medical Device Safety and Recalls: Covidien, Medi-Trace Cadence and Kendall Defibrillation Electrodes...

A recall has been issued for the Covidien Medi-Trace Cadence and Kendall Defibrillation Electrodes because the electrodes will not work with Philips FR3 and FRx Automated External Defibrillators.  

Philips made changes to the design of their connectors for the FR3 and FRx AEDs, and because of these changes, the Covidien defibrillation electrodes will not work with these AEDs.  Use of these electrodes could cause a delay in delivering electrical therapy that is needed to revive patients. Additionally, their use could lead to severe health problems such as stroke, organ failure, or death if alternative defibrillator electrodes are not readily available. Covidien received two reports of injuries. There was a delay in resuscitating one patient which may have contributed to the subsequent death of the patient.  

For more information, please see: http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/ListofRecalls/ucm419565.htm