A Medical Device Daily

NMT Medical (Boston) reported that a $2.25 million judgment for damages has been entered by the U.S. District Court of Minnesota against Cardia (Burnsville, Minnesota). The judgment is required to be paid to NMT in increments throughout the next several months.

The patent infringement lawsuit, originally filed in September 2004, alleged that Cardia's Intrasept device infringes Patent No. 5.451.235 ("the 235 Patent").

The 235 Patent is owned by the Children's Medical Center (CMCC; Tucson, Arizona) and is licensed exclusively by NMT. In November 2007, the U.S. District Court of Minnesota issued a summary judgment ruling confirming the validity of the 235 Patent and holding that Cardia had infringed upon it.

Cardia will pay $2.25 million and has agreed immediately to cease further production, marketing and sales of its Intrasept device. The cash payments will be divided equally between NMT and CMCC, following reimbursement of NMT's legal fees and expenses. All parties have agreed to have the matter dismissed with prejudice.

NMT Medical develops implant technologies that allow interventional cardiologists to treat structural heart disease through minimally invasive, catheter-based procedures.

In other legalities:

• CryoCor (San Diego), a company focused on the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, reported that on May 8, two alleged holders of CryoCor common stock filed a complaint in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Diego, naming as defendants each member of the company's board of directors, CryoCor and Boston Scientific (Natick, Massachusetts).

Plaintiffs purport to bring the action on behalf of a class consisting of all holders of CryoCor common stock, except the defendants and their affiliates.

Plaintiffs allege in their complaint that the board of directors of CryoCor, aided and abetted by Boston Scientific, breached their fiduciary duties in approving the agreement and plan of merger, dated April 15, 2008, by and among Boston Scientific subsidiary Scimed (Maple Grove, Minnesota) and Padres Acquisition, a wholly owned subsidiary of Boston Scientific Scimed and CryoCor.

The action seeks, among other things, an order enjoining the transaction contemplated by the merger agreement, compensatory damages in the event the transaction contemplated by the merger agreement is consummated, and the reimbursement of plaintiffs' attorney's fees and related costs of bringing the action.

Based on its review of the complaint, CryoCor said that it believes the action is "without merit" and intends, along with its board, to defend the action "vigorously."

CryoCor has developed and manufactures a disposable catheter system based on its proprietary cryoablation technology for the minimally invasive treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.

• Biovail (Mississauga, Ontario) reported that a subsidiary of the company has reached an agreement with the Department of Justice (DoJ) in respect of criminal allegations related to activities surrounding the 2003 commercial launch of Cardizem LA.

In particular, the allegations relate to prior management's actions in 2002 and 2003 in respect of the Cardizem LA clinical experience program, titled PLACE (Proving L.A. through Clinical Experience).

The company said the agreement eliminates any criminal liability for Biovail arising from this matter, and preserves its ability to conduct business in the U.S. Without the agreement, the company was at risk of being excluded from doing business with any health program sponsored by the U.S. federal government. These programs represent a material proportion of Biovail's business.

The agreement is subject to approval at a court hearing that is expected to take place on a date between July 31 and Sept. 15.

Under terms of the agreement, the subsidiary, Biovail Pharmaceuticals (BPI; also Mississauga), would plead guilty to charges relating to making payments to induce purchasing or ordering of Cardizem LA in 2003 and would pay $24.6 million to fully settle the matter. As part of the agreement, Biovail said it expects to receive full releases for all matters related to the DoJ's investigation.

The agreement will not affect any current or future Biovail medicines approved for use in the U.S., and will not affect the continued marketing of Cardizem LA.

• CardioNet (Conshohocken, Pennsylvania) reported that it and LifeWatch (Buffalo Grove, Illinois) have entered into a settlement agreement under which the parties have agreed to resolve the lawsuit between them, with dismissal by both sides of all claims pending in the suit. Terms of the agreement are confidential.

Arie Cohen, CardioNet president/CEO, said, "We are pleased to have this behind us, and we look forward to continuing the strong momentum we have achieved in recent quarters."

CardioNet is a provider of ambulatory, continuous, real-time outpatient management solutions for monitoring clinical information regarding.

LifeWatch is a provider of remote cardiac arrhythmia monitoring devices and services in the U.S., which assist physicians and patients in the early detection and treatment of arrhythmia.