By CRAIG DOUGLAS
Boston Business Journal

Medical-device maker Boston Scientific Corp. will pay $716 million to settle longstanding litigation with rival health-care technologies giant Johnson & Johnson over intellectual-property rights tied to Boston Scientific's cardiac stents, the company said late Tuesday.

Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific said the payment will be made using existing cash reserves. As of June 30 the company had $1.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents on hand.

The settlement retires "more than a dozen lawsuits involving Johnson & Johnson" and disputes over the companies' vascular-stent technologies. Both companies are primary players in the multibillion-dollar stent business, with Boston Scientific considered the market leader.

"We are pleased we have been able to significantly reduce the amount of outstanding litigation we have with Johnson & Johnson," said Ray Elliott, Boston Scientific's president and CEO, in a prepared statement. "We continue to work with them to resolve other outstanding matters."

During the six months ended June 30, Boston Scientific booked $4.08 billion in revenue and $145 million in net income. The company recorded $4.07 billion in revenue and net income of $420 million in the year-earlier period.