A recent market analysis names Boston Scientific as the medical device firm with the strongest intellectual property:
“History has shown that firms with the broadest, largest collection of intellectual property and R&D agendas tend to be more successful over the long run… Boston Scientific’s patent portfolio has the highest technology strength … ”
“…Boston Scientific’s intellectual franchise will increase significantly with the addition of Guidant. The trends for Guidant in its pacemaker/ICD business, which saw a significant increase in the concentration of patent applications relative to its existing patent base, bode well for Boston Scientific, as it integrates the business and builds out its electrical engineering skills.”
So that’s why they paid so much for Guidant, whose name is pretty much synonymous with “defibrillator recall” …
Flashback: The Courtship of Guidant, The Morning After, Boston Scientific to Dissolve Guidant Brand