Medtronic settles heart valve patent fight with rival Edwards

Medtronic Inc agreed to pay more than $1 billion to rival Edwards Lifesciences Corp to settle patent litigation and keep its CoreValve artificial heart valve on the U.S. market. The settlement announced Tuesday ends years of litigation between the two companies over technology for implanting replacement valves that spares patients from open-heart surgery. The U.S. market for the procedure is expected to top $500 million this year and double in size by 2018, Jefferies analysts predict. Edwards was first to market with its Sapien technology in 2011 in the United States, while Medtronic received U.S. regulatory approval for CoreValve in January.