Medinol to seek royalties from Boston Scientific

Medinol Ltd., which last week won a $750 million legal settlement from Boston Scientific Corp. over sales of coronary stents, plans to pursue future royalties on a next-generation Boston Scientific stent, a lawyer for Medinol said. ''We're going to bring a patent infringement case. . . . It's going to cover the Liberte and other products of theirs that we say infringe on our intellectual property," said Rory Millson, an attorney with Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Natick-based Boston Scientific is rolling out its next-generation Taxus Liberte drug-coated stent in Europe after winning regulatory approval there this month. It expects to launch the device in the United States in 2006. ''We are familiar with Medinol's patent portfolio, and we don't believe any of their intellectual property rights are infringed by Liberte," a Boston Scientific spokesman said. (Reuters)

Net income increases 10.3% in fourth quarter

Analogic Corp. fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 10.3 percent, aided by higher sales of computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging products. The Peabody maker of high-precision health and security imaging equipment said income for the quarter ended July 31 increased to $4.3 million, or 31 cents a share, from $3.9 million, or 29 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter slipped 0.2 percent to $102 million from $102.2 million a year earlier. (Dow Jones)

Cubist files with FDA to expand use of antibiotic

Cubist Pharmaceuticals said it filed for US approval of its Cubicin intravenous antibiotic to treat heart and blood infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Lexington-based Cubist requested a priority review for the new use from the Food and Drug Administration. The designation would shorten the review time for the drug to six months from the standard 12, Cubist said. Cubicin works on certain infections regardless of whether they have developed drug resistance, allowing doctors to treat the disease without running laboratory tests. The potential size of the market exceeds $1 billion a year, said chief executive Michael Bonney. (Bloomberg)

THE NATION
Public TV commission names Halpern chairman

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting picked Republican donor Cheryl Halpern as chairwoman to replace Kenneth Tomlinson, who is under investigation for hiring a consultant to assess the political leanings of public television shows. At a meeting in Washington, the Republican-controlled board elected Halpern to a one-year stint as chairwoman, 5-3, along party lines. Tomlinson's term leading the agency, which funds television programs including ''Nova," ended yesterday. Halpern takes over from a chairman whose term was marked by controversy over whether he injected politics into decision making at the agency. Halpern has signaled she shares Tomlinson's desire to push for a balance of conservative and liberal voices at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. (Bloomberg)

FTC might put conditions on purchase of Guidant

US authorities are considering requiring Johnson & Johnson to license a key cardiac stent technology to Abbott Laboratories as a condition of approving its purchase of Guidant Corp., but the idea has drawn opposition from another rival, Medtronic, a source said. The Federal Trade Commission is considering the licensing scheme as a way of easing concerns about competition, the source familiar with the matter said. But lawyers for Medtronic are taking their objections to the FTC's four commissioners, this source said. An Abbott spokeswoman would not confirm whether it is in line to license the stent-delivery technology. A Medtronic spokesman would only say the company had been contacted by the FTC. A J&J spokesman declined to comment. (Reuters)

Website hires finance writers to bolster content

Yahoo, the most-visited website, said it hired nine finance writers to supply columns on topics including personal finance, investments, and economic issues. Ben Stein, TV personality, lawyer, and economist, will write the ''Common Sense" column on personal investing. Yahoo also hired Stephen Covey, author of ''The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." The columnists will bolster Yahoo's original content, part of an effort to draw more users and advertisers to its sites. (Bloomberg)

Janus wants to implement performance fees on funds

Janus Capital Group, a manager of about $130 billion in assets, wants to charge investors of 13 mutual funds so-called performance fees as returns improve. The company now gets a fixed fee for managing funds. Those fees would rise when performance beats certain benchmarks, according to a preliminary proxy statement of a proposal to shareholders filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Bloomberg)