The
’s
Smiths Groupannounced yesterday that Smiths Medical has entered into a cross-licensing agreement with
Medtronic MiniMed.
The agreement terminates all pending litigation between the companies relating to the Deltec Cozmo insulin pump, and confirms that no changes are required to the design of the pump.
Minneapolis-based Medtronic’s lawsuit against Smiths Medical alleged that Smiths Medical wilfully infringed Medtronic patents related to its insulin pumps
Under the terms of the agreement Smiths will make an initial payment to Medtronic and will pay a royalty on future sales of the current model.
The costs of the settlement will be treated as an exceptional charge in Smiths Group's 2005 Accounts. Subject to audit, this charge is expected to be no more than £15 million.
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