Boston Scientific and St. Jude Medical have agreed to settle a breach of contract case involving Douglas Nock, a former Guidant sales rep who was VP of sales for Boston Sci's western territory from 2005 to late 2009. Guidant sued Nock, alleging he broke the non-compete clause in his contract and accusing him of trying to lure away his former co-workers. St. Jude also was named in the case.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. A St. Jude Medical spokeswoman told MassDevice the company "is unable to comment" on the case, and a Boston Sci rep didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Last April, the spat began heating up when Boston Sci CEO Ray Elliott told analysts during the company's Q4 earnings call that several sales representatives and managers who were dismissed from the company for repeated breaches of the company's ethical code of conduct had been hired by rival St. Jude. At the time, a St. Jude spokeswoman confirmed to the Boston Globe that the company had hired four former Boston Sci employees--two of whom were cardiac rhythm sales representatives--over the previous few months.
Elliott also said his company has worked hard to strengthen its internal code of conduct, which governs relationships with doctors and vendors. He confirmed the reps were fired from Boston Scientific's Cardiac Rhythm Management business, but didn't specify what rules they had broken. When the reps left for St. Jude, they took roughly $100 million in business with them.
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