Beckers Hospital Review just reported that in May 2025, a federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California awarded $147 million in damages to Scottsdale, Arizona–based Innovative Health, a medical device reprocessor, in a lawsuit filed in 2019 against Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary, Biosense Webster.

The jury found that Biosense Webster violated federal antitrust laws (Sherman Antitrust Act, Sections 1 and 2 and California Cartwright Act) by engaging in anticompetitive practices, specifically by withholding clinical support from hospitals that used reprocessed catheters instead of purchasing new ones from Biosense.

The lawsuit centered on Biosense Webster’s policy of tying access to clinical support for its CARTO 3 cardiac mapping system to the exclusive purchase of its high-density mapping and ultrasound catheters.

Innovative Health alleged that this policy, implemented after they received FDA clearance in 2016 to reprocess Biosense’s catheters, pressured hospitals to buy new devices, stifling competition and maintaining Biosense’s monopoly in the cardiac mapping catheter market.

Internal emails presented during the trial showed hospitals expressing interest in Innovative’s cost-effective reprocessed catheters but facing warnings from Biosense about discontinued support.

Biosense defended the policy, arguing it was necessary to ensure service quality and prevent competitors from “free-riding” on their clinical support infrastructure.

However, the jury sided with Innovative Health, determining that the tying arrangement and monopolistic practices were illegal.

The case was initially dismissed in 2022 but revived by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2023, leading to the trial that began in April 2025.

Association of Medical Device Reprocessors issued the following statement: “Friday’s unanimous verdict by a federal jury in Santa Ana, California for Innovative Health against Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is a victory for America’s hospitals, providers, patients, and the environment. The jury found that Biosense Webster violated federal and state antitrust laws by withholding clinical support to hospitals using Innovative Health’s FDA regulated, reprocessed catheters.”

“For too long, Johnson & Johnson has used tying arrangements and other tactics to interfere with fair competition from lower-cost, FDA-regulated, reprocessed ‘single-use’ devices (SUDs),” the association’s CEO Daniel J. Vukelich said in a news release. “We hope this jury’s message will be heard loud and clear: Hospitals want to reduce costs and greenhouse gas emissions by using more reprocessed SUDs without fear of retribution by their original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).”

The verdict is seen as a significant win for reprocessors and hospitals seeking cost-effective, FDA-regulated reprocessed devices to reduce costs and environmental impact.