Warsaw Native Sasso Wins $112.4M Lawsuit With Medtronic
November 30, 2018 at 6:31 p.m.
Warsaw Native Sasso Wins $112.4M Lawsuit With Medtronic
By Staff Report-
Sasso is a renowned spine surgeon and inventor of spinal medical devices. He grew up in Warsaw and attended Wabash College and Indiana University School of Medicine. He is now a professor of orthopedic surgery at I.U.
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After finishing his training, he began work with an upstart spinal implant company, Sofamor Danek, with its roots in Warsaw and Memphis, Tenn. Sofamor Danek was merged into the largest medical device company in the world, Medtronic.
A press release from Sasso’s attorneys at Plews, Shadley, Racher and Braun in Indianapolis, said “Over nearly a decade, Dr. Sasso assigned several inventions and know-how to Medtronic in return for royalties on the sales of various products. Beginning in 2011, his long standing relationship with Medtronic began to fall apart.
“In 2013, after Medtronic wrongfully stopped royalty payments, he was forced to sue Medtronic for unpaid royalties. There were two contracts at issue in the trial. One related to the Vertex Reconstruction System, which is a posterior cervical screw rod fixation system used to stabilize the cervical spine. The second contract related to a screw delivery system that is now used around the world as a way to implant spinal products in a minimally invasive manner.
“The four-week trial concluded after a Marshall County jury deliberated for six hours and awarded Dr. Sasso the full asking amount of $112,452,269 in unpaid royalties (and interest) on those contracts.”
Sasso is a renowned spine surgeon and inventor of spinal medical devices. He grew up in Warsaw and attended Wabash College and Indiana University School of Medicine. He is now a professor of orthopedic surgery at I.U.
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After finishing his training, he began work with an upstart spinal implant company, Sofamor Danek, with its roots in Warsaw and Memphis, Tenn. Sofamor Danek was merged into the largest medical device company in the world, Medtronic.
A press release from Sasso’s attorneys at Plews, Shadley, Racher and Braun in Indianapolis, said “Over nearly a decade, Dr. Sasso assigned several inventions and know-how to Medtronic in return for royalties on the sales of various products. Beginning in 2011, his long standing relationship with Medtronic began to fall apart.
“In 2013, after Medtronic wrongfully stopped royalty payments, he was forced to sue Medtronic for unpaid royalties. There were two contracts at issue in the trial. One related to the Vertex Reconstruction System, which is a posterior cervical screw rod fixation system used to stabilize the cervical spine. The second contract related to a screw delivery system that is now used around the world as a way to implant spinal products in a minimally invasive manner.
“The four-week trial concluded after a Marshall County jury deliberated for six hours and awarded Dr. Sasso the full asking amount of $112,452,269 in unpaid royalties (and interest) on those contracts.”
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