Abbott Laboratories Inc. seemed to score a recent victory in an ongoing patent dispute over transcatheter mitral valve repair technology, as a Delaware federal judge largely sided with the company in a 22 October court order.
The dispute concerns five patents held by Abbott, which the firm claims are being violated by Edwards Lifesciences Corp.’s Pascal transcatheter mitral valve repair device. Abbott’s MitraClip is currently the only transcatheter mitral valve repair device approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Pascal, which is now in clinical trials, would be the first direct competitor to reach the US market