Gore wins patent tussle over Helex device

A judge ruled in favor of W. L. Gore & Associates in a patent dispute over a device used to treat structural heart defects.

The device is a permanently implanted prosthesis and catheter delivery system indicated for the transcatheter closure of atrial septal defects. It was approved by the FDA in 2006.

In 2010, AGA Medical Corp. filed a lawsuit that claimed Gore’s Helex Septal Occluder infringed on one of its patents. The company sought damages and an injunction prohibiting the Newark, Del.-based Gore from marketing the device in the U.S. and abroad. St. Jude Medical of St. Paul, Minn. acquired AGA later that year.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota ruled July 23 that the Helex Septal Occluder did not infringe on AGA’s patent and granted Gore’s request for summary judgment of non-infringement. AGA has the right to appeal the decision.