St. Jude Medical, Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn. has filed suit in federal court against Volcano Corporation of San Diego, Calif. over alleged infringement of five patents. The claims involve several products that St. Jude says infringe on patents for the St. Jude Medical PressureWire® platform. The products in question distributed by Volcano include its PrimeWire™.

According to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court, District of Delaware, the St. Jude products in the patent relate to measuring fractional flow reserves associated with stenosis or other measures related to treatment of coronary artery disease. Radi Medical Systems AB developed the products. St. Jude acquired Radi in 2008. Radi then changed its name to St. Jude Medical Systems AB.

The complaint asks for a judgment determining that Volcano infringed the St. Jude patents, an injunction against further infringement, awards of damages, costs and attorneys' fees.

St. Jude develops medical technology and services focusing on cardiac rhythm management, atrial fibrillation, cardiovascular and neuromodulation. Volcano Corporation develops and manufactures devices to facilitate endovascular procedures and diagnosis of vascular and structural heart disease.

"St. Jude Medical has made significant investments in the interventional cardiology space, including the coronary assessment and more recently the coronary imaging markets," said Frank Callaghan, president of the St. Jude Medical Cardiovascular Division, in a press release regarding the litigation. "From clinical research to important product advancements, Radi Medical Systems and now St. Jude Medical have contributed considerably to the success of this marketplace. As a company that values the innovations we bring to the marketplace, we intend to protect our intellectual property."

Volcano released a statement saying it will "vigorously defend" the lawsuit, and that the company believes that the claims against it are entirely without merit.

Adapted in part from press releases from St. Jude and Volcano.

The press releases may be found here and here.

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