Irvine-based Edwards Lifesciences Corp. said today that a federal appeals court affirmed an earlier finding that rival Medtronic Inc. infringed on an Edwards patent for less-invasive heart valves.
Edwards’ stock was up about 2% to a market value of $10.2 billion on the news.
The heart valve maker said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed an April 2010 federal jury decision that found that Medtronic CoreValve LLC, an Irvine unit of Minneapolis-based Medtronic, willfully infringed on a U.S. patent for a new type of heart valve inserted through a catheter.
The appeals court also affirmed a $74 million damage award to Edwards and the validity of the patent.
It did not issue an order banning sales of CoreValve. It did, however, order the lower court to reconsider Edwards’ request for a permanent injunction that would prohibit the manufacture and sale of CoreValve in the United States.
