Masimo Corp., an Irvine-based maker of patient monitoring devices, again prevailed in court over a longtime rival.
Earlier this month, Masimo said the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco affirmed a 2006 lower court decision that Covidien Ltd., formerly Tyco Healthcare, violated antitrust laws with sales of its Nellcor pulse oximeters, which monitor oxygen levels in patients.
That original ruling found that Tyco Healthcare unlawfully had monopoly power in the market for pulse oximeters. The company’s sole-source deals with hospital purchasing groups were unlawful restraints of trade in violation of federal antitrust laws, according to the ruling.
Covidien, which has its official headquarters in Ireland and operates from Mansfield, Mass., claimed a partial victory in the decision as the appeals court upheld a decision to reduce a jury award from $420 million to $43.5 million plus legal fees.
A spokesman said the company was pleased the damages were reduced “to a small fraction of the original jury decision.”
Earlier this decade, Masimo fought to get its oximeters into hospitals, a battle that included a New York Times article and lawmakers’ criticism of purchasing groups’ business practices.
In a release, the device maker said that it hoped the results of the case would help improve care and reduce costs. Masimo said devices “should be judged on their own merits and not based on artificial restraints on hospital purchasing placed by large manufacturers.”
Chief Executive Joe Kiani told analysts and investors on Masimo’s third-quarter conference call earlier this month that the company “does not seek out litigation.”
But in a flash of Masimo’s well-known scrappiness, Kiani said the device maker was unwilling to accept “what we believe to be unfair and illegal monopolistic practices.”
Masimo has tangled with Covidien and related companies in court for roughly 10 years over competitive and patent issues.
In 2006, it received more than $300 million in a patent lawsuit settlement with Covidien.
The recently upheld decision was in a 2002 case that was decided on by a jury in 2006.
Japanese Valve Implant
Irvine heart valve maker Edwards Lifesciences Corp. said earlier this month its Sapien heart valve was implanted in two Japanese patients.
The device maker said the implants were performed at Osaka University in preparation for a Senshin-Iryo application submission to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
Senshin-Iryo is a committee of medical technology experts that looks at new drugs and medical devices to weigh whether Japan’s national health insurance program should cover them in part.
It’s separate from the clinical trial process for Japanese regulatory approval.
Edwards expects Sapien, which is sold in Europe, to bring in $110 million in revenue this year. It is in a major clinical trial in the U.S. with an eye toward Food and Drug Administration approval in late 2011.
Analysts have said that Sapien and valves produced by rivals, such as CoreValve, an Irvine unit of Medtronic Inc., have the potential to transform the replacement valve market because they can open it up to patients who aren’t strong enough for open-heart surgery.
Separately, Edwards said an automatic blood glucose monitoring system it developed with San Diego-based DexCom Inc. received European regulatory clearance. The system is used to monitor and trend blood sugar concentrations in critically ill adults.
Edwards said the clearance allows the system to be commercialized in the European Union and certain countries in Asia and Latin America that recognize CE marks.
Stem Cells Research
University of California, Irvine, researchers have found that human embryonic stem cells could restore cognitive abilities in people treated for brain tumors.
The researchers found that transplanting stem cells into laboratory rats restored learning and memory to normal levels four months after radiation therapy. By contrast, laboratory rats that didn’t get the cells saw a more than 50% drop in cognitive function.
The loss of learning and memory is a “progressive, debilitating side effect” of treating brain tumors, said Charles Limoli, a UC Irvine radiation oncology professor and senior author of the study. “Any treatments showing promise at reversing this are worthy of pursuit.”
Study results appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Funding came from grants by the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.
In other UCI news, the university said it was going to open a center for treating people with chronic pain at the Gottschalk Medical Plaza. The center will have a team made up of anesthesiologists, neurologists and psychologists, as well as physical medicine and rehabilitation doctors.
