A federal judge cleared California medical-device maker Sotera Wireless Inc. to leave bankruptcy with $30 million in new investments, despite a protest from a competitor, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. Judge Laura Taylor approved Sotera Wireless’s bankruptcy-exit plan, which calls for companies affiliated with Apple Inc. supplier Foxconn Technology Group to invest about $19.8 million by purchasing new stock in the company. The San Diego company’s operations make ViSi Mobile System surveillance monitoring devices that measure a patient’s blood pressure, heart rate and other vital signs. The plan would enable Sotera Wireless to fully repay its debts and reshuffle ownership, though the survival strategy still faces opposition from Masimo Corp., which has accused Sotera Wireless of stealing trade secrets. On Sunday, Masimo lawyers asked Judge Taylor to stop Sotera Wireless from putting its bankruptcy-exit plan into action, arguing that the plan would lead to payouts that Masimo officials said would be hard to recover if they win the legal dispute. Masimo makes a patient-worn monitor device called the Patient SafetyNet System that tracks a patient’s pulse rate and respiration. It sued Sotera Wireless in 2013, accusing it of illegally obtaining Masimo’s trade secrets through two former employees. Sotera Wireless has denied wrongdoing.
