Varian Medical, Elekta bury the hatchet in radiosurgery spat

Varian Medical (NYSE:VAR) and Elekta (STO:EKTA B) said yesterday that they agreed to bury the hatchet in their patent infringement war over radiosurgery technology.

The agreement covers litigation in the U.S., Germany and the U.K. and includes a lawsuit brought by Elekta and William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., Varian and Elekta said. The settlement did not involve any exchange of payment or any future obligations, they said.

It’s not the 1st peace deal between the rivals. In 2013 Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian and Stockholm-based Elekta agreed to put to rest a lawsuit accusing the Swedish medical device company of stealing trade secrets when it poached sales reps from its U.S. competitor.

Varian sued Elekta in 2012 in a Texas state court, accusing the Stockholm-based radiological device maker of swiping proprietary information when it lured a pair of sales reps away from Palo Alto-based Varian.

In 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services stepped in to level the playing field between Elekta and Varian. Under the proposal, Medicare would offer equal payment to healthcare providers conducting single-treatment radiosurgery for brain tumors, whether the procedure is conducted with Elekta’s Gamma Knife or Varian’s Linac.

The decision would reverse a 2012 measure, supported by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), which would cut payments for Elekta’s technology.

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