Court Reverses $482 Million Case Against Johnson & Johnson's Cordis Corporation
Cordis Corp, a Johnson and Johnson (JNJ.N) subsidiary, did not infringe on a patent owned by a radiologist in making its Cypher stents, an appeals court said on Thursday, reversing a ruling by a lower court that ordered Cordis to pay $482 million. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a ruling from a Texas jury, which found Cordis guilty of infringement and ordered the payment. The appeals court ruled that Cordis had not infringed. Johnson & Johnson's shares closed slightly higher at $82.41. The radiologist, Bruce Saffran, filed a lawsuit in 2007, accusing Cordis of infringing a patent he obtained in 1997 to make its Cypher brand drug-eluting stents. A jury ruled for Saffran in 2011. Cordis asked the judge to toss the ruling out, but he declined and added $111 million in interest, bringing the total award to $593 million.