Johnson & Johnson MedTech hit with permanent injunction as fallout over antitrust lawsuit continues
Johnson & Johnson MedTech was already ordered to pay $442.2 million in damages for withholding clinical support to healthcare providers. Now the company has been hit with a permanent injunction designed to stop it from being a repeat offender.
The permanent injunction was signed Aug. 27, 2025, by Judge James V. Selna of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. It rules that Johnson & Johnson’s Biosense Webster division—now known simply as Johnson & Johnson MedTech—is not allowed to hold back clinical support for its cardiac mapping devices when customers purchase them from a reprocessing company. In addition, the company is barred from implementing new technology that would stop any reprocessed devices from properly working.
The permanent injunction also rules that a Johnson & Johnson MedTech executive is required to report to the court every six months with a detailed breakdown of what the company is doing to ensure it complies with this order. That executive must also “certify, under penalty of perjury,” that Johnson & Johnson MedTech is still complying fully with the injunction.
This ruling will stay in effect for five years, though the court does reserve the right to shorten or lengthen it as needed to “reflect ongoing market conditions.”
Additional background information on this case
Arizona-based Innovative Health, a medical device reprocessing company focused exclusively on cardiology, filed the initial lawsuit after Biosense Webster stopped offering free support to customers using reprocessed Carto 3 catheters. The company believed the policy was in violation of both state and federal antitrust laws—and the jury for the case seems to have agreed.
Johnson & Johnson MedTech was ultimately ordered to pay $442.2 million in damages. Innovative Health was not done, however; the company then requested a permanent injunction that would prohibit the healthcare giant from restricting service based on whether or not a device is reprocessed.
Johnson & Johnson MedTech has publicly disagreed with the judge’s decisions every step of the way.
“We continue to believe our actions are pro-competitive and meet our responsibility to ensure patient safety and product performance,” the company told Cardiovascular Business in May. “We are carefully reviewing the verdict and evaluating all legal options, including appeal. Johnson & Johnson MedTech remains committed to upholding the highest standards in how we support customers and deliver critical care solutions.”
Cardiovascular Business did reach out to Johnson & Johnson MedTech for an updated comment now that this injunction has been finalized. The company has yet to reply.
Global trade group celebrates judge’s decision
The Association of Medical Device Reprocessors (AMDR), a global trade group focused on the reprocessing and remanufacturing of commercial medical devices, has shared a statement praising the permanent injunction.
“Hospitals and patients have long paid the price for Biosense Webster’s anticompetitive behavior,” said Daniel J. Vukelich, president and CEO of AMDR. “This ruling reaffirms that dominant device manufacturers cannot abuse their market power to prevent hospitals from delivering the best possible care at the lowest possible price to the most patients in need at the least cost to the environment. The verdict from the jury and the injunction from the judge both send strong signals to the MedTech industry that the courts are on alert and will not tolerate monopolistic conduct.”
Michael has more than 19 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.