Edwards Lifesciences Corp. has scored wins in the trial court and clinical trial arenas.
The Irvine-based heart valve maker said roughly a week ago that a federal jury in Boston returned a verdict in favor of CardiAQ Valve Technologies Inc. in a lawsuit filed against Vancouver-based Neovasc Inc. Edwards bought CardiAQ, a maker of less-invasive mitral replacement heart valves that was based in Irvine, last summer.
The jury found that Neovasc, a maker of cardiac devices, “breached the non-disclosure agreement between the parties, misappropriated CardiAQ’s trade secrets and breached its duty of honest performance to CardiAQ,” Edwards said in a news release, adding that the jury awarded CardiAQ $70 million in damages for the trade secret misappropriation.
CardiAQ sued Neovasc in 2014, a year before Edwards bought it. CardiAQ co-founders Dr. Arshad Quadri and J. Brent Ratz hired Neovasc in 2009 to provide tissue processing and valve assembly services for its valve program.
In 2011, however, CardiAQ discovered that Neovasc had a patent publication and had been working on its own transcatheter heart valve program without disclosing it to CardiAQ.
“[We] are grateful that the jury recognized these contributions to the developing field of transcatheter mitral valve replacement,” said Ratz, who’s now vice president of research and development for the CardiAQ-Edwards transcatheter mitral valve replacement program.
Neovasc said in a news release that it was evaluating its next step.
“Regrettably, the jury trial phase of this lawsuit was not resolved to our satisfaction,” said Chief Executive Alexei Marko. “We will be exploring our options regarding post-trial motions in the trial court and potentially, the appellate process.”
Separately, Edwards said that trials of its traditional surgical heart valves showed positive clinical results. It said a 673-patient trial of a newly developed surgical heart valve showed no cases of structural valve deterioration, thrombosis or nonstructural valve dysfunction at one year after implantation.
Edwards also reported results from a pair of trials involving its Edwards Intuity, a rapid deployment system for surgical aortic valve replacement. Intuity was found to reduce cross-clamp and cardiopulmonary bypass time compared to times recorded in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ adult cardiac database.
Another trial involving Intuity looked at 493 European patients and showed what Edwards said was “excellent safety and effectiveness” at one year after implantation.
“These compelling new data on more than 2,000 patients provide important clinical evidence on the benefits of new surgical treatments,” said Bernard Zovighian, Edwards’ corporate vice president, surgical heart valve therapy.
Abbott Touts Performance
Santa Ana-based Abbott Medical Optics said a trial of its Tecnis Symfony 1-Piece acrylic intraocular lens met its primary endpoint of improving intermediate vision.
Abbott Medical Optics, a unit of Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories, makes a variety of devices used in cataract and vision correction surgeries, along with contact lens care products. The company was previously known as Advanced Medical Optics and was acquired by Abbott in 2009.
The company said in a news release that the study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of Tecnis Symfony 1-Piece in 148 patients, compared with 150 patients who received a monofocal Tecnis lens.
Abbott added that Dr. James Loden of the Loden Vision Center in Nashville, Tenn., also presented study data covering 735 people from 69 sites in the U.S., Europe and New Zealand.
Both studies were presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery’s annual meeting in New Orleans this month.
ResearchDx Helps Saudis
Irvine-based ResearchDx, which provides comprehensive consulting for diagnostic test development, is partnering with Saudi Arabia-based BioSmart SA to work on the design and management of diagnostic services to healthcare providers in the Arab country.
ResearchDx and BioSmart will provide market-tailored services in clinical research, clinical trial support, laboratory regulation, diagnostic development, kit and reagent manufacturing, and early-stage support. ResearchDx said it will be the service administrator, while BioSmart “will lend market expertise in Saudi Arabia and throughout the Middle East.”
Bits & Pieces
Villa Park-based Supurva Healthcare Group Inc. said it completed its acquisition of Dallas-based Telemend Medical Inc.’s assets. A purchase price wasn’t disclosed. Supurva is a provider of on-site healthcare for acute, sub-acute and nursing home patients. … Fountain Valley-based Nobles Medical Technologies II said it received notice of allowance of its claims for new suturing technology. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office sends a notice of allowance to a company when it intends to issue a patent. … Irvine-based Sabra Health Care REIT Inc. said its chief investment officer, Talya Nevo-Hacohen, will participate on a panel next month during the IMN Senior Housing Private Equity Forum in Dana Point.
