Neovasc claims win in German TMVR patent case against Edwards unit CardiAQ Valve

Neovasc (NSDQ:NVCN) today claimed a win in its patent infringement war with Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) subsidiary CardiAQ Valve Technologies, saying a German appeals court dismissed a case there.

In June 2017 the District Court in Munich ruled that CardiAQ Valve contributed to the creation of Neovasc’s Tiara transcatheter mitral valve replacement, awarding”co-entitlement” rights to the patent in Europe. Both sides appealed that ruling, in the course of which CardiAQ withdrew its total ownership claim but asserted partial ownership, Vancouver-based Neovasc said today.

Munich’s Higher Regional Court dismissed the remaining claims, finding that CardiAQ “had not contributed to the invention of the Tiara” and ruling “Neovasc to be the rightful inventor and owner of all rights to the disputed Tiara European patent application,” according to Neovasc.

“We are pleased that after full consideration of the evidence, the German courts have now recognized that CardiAQ made no contribution to the invention or development of the Tiara,” CEO Fred Colen said in prepared remarks. “With this decision, which we strongly believe would be confirmed, even if appealed to and accepted as a case by the German Supreme Court, Neovasc is free to pursue its European patent application and has the sole right to commercialize the Tiara in Europe and help treat patients suffering from debilitating mitral valve disease. We will continue to vigorously defend our intellectual property against any attempts by third parties to infringe on these rights.”

The German case is only one front in the companies’ TMVR war. In the U.S., a jury in May 2016 awarded $70 million to CardiAQ after finding that Neovasc misappropriated trade secrets in developing Tiara. A federal judge in Massachusetts added $21 million in enhanced damages to the decision that November; in January 2017 the Boston court added another $21 million to the judgment.

Edwards, which inherited the beef when it acquired CardiAQ Valve for $400 million in August 2014, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Earlier this month Neovasc inked an exchange deal for the last of the warrants it issued as part of a $65 million funding round to cover the litigation damages.

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