AtriCure Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $3.76 million to settle claims that it promoted its surgical ablation devices for unapproved uses and participated in medical insurance fraud.
AtriCure Inc. said today that it has tentatively settled a whistle-blower lawsuit with the Department of Justice so that it can concentrate on newly launched technologies, as well as on clinical trials to bring more new products to market. Investors pushed up AtriCure stock by 18 percent in early afternoon trading.
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
AtriCure had tied much of its future success to the AtriClip. Minimally invasive product revenue has fallen at AtriCure in part because of a change in techniques among physicians that's not compatible with some of the company's products. The AtriClip accommodates the "single clamp" approach. Plus, the company thinks this device can also be used for open-heart procedures.
AtriCure Inc. in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to sell a disposable medical device that uses extreme cold to treat abnormal heart rhythms.
The net loss for Cincinnati-area medical device maker AtriCure Inc. widened in the fourth quarter from a year ago, thanks in part to costs of job cuts in the recent quarter. But AtriCure's loss narrowed for all of 2008 on revenues of $55.3 million.