Stent maker to record charge
SAN FRANCISCO - Boston Scientific Corp., the world's biggest seller of heart stents, said it will record a $197 million after-tax charge in the first quarter as a result of a patent infringement case it lost to Johnson & Johnson.
Boston Scientific also will book $26 million for job cuts, plant closings, and other previously announced restructuring expenses and $43 million in the settlement of a patent lawsuit with a New Jersey doctor, the Natick, Mass., company said yesterday in a statement.
Boston Scientific and J&J, of New Brunswick, N.J., last month each lost appeals challenging 2005 jury verdicts that their heart devices used each other's technology. Damages have not yet been determined. The patent cases are among dozens between the companies.
The $197 million charge from the J&J verdict "represents an estimate of the low end of the range of potential outcomes," Boston Scientific said in its statement.
The company also will record a net gain of $63 million related to the resolution of a tax claim when it reports earnings Monday, the statement said.
