IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alsius Corporation , the worldwide leader in intravascular temperature management (IVTM(TM)) therapies for critically ill patients, today announced that it is prepared to respond aggressively to the patent lawsuit brought against it by ZOLL Circulation, Inc., a subsidiary of ZOLL Medical Corporation . Alsius was sued by ZOLL based on two temperature management patents ZOLL purchased from a defunct competitor of Alsius’. Alsius believes that its patents do not infringe on the ZOLL patents, and that ZOLL’s core temperature management patents are invalid. Alsius believes that it retains a dominant patent position in intravascular cooling that, among other things, precludes any competitor from marketing an intravascular cooling catheter for therapeutic hypothermia in patients who have had cardiac arrest or heart attack. ZOLL has not yet sold temperature management products based on ZOLL’s patents.
About Alsius Corporation
Alsius, the worldwide leader in intravascular temperature management, develops, manufactures and sells proprietary products to precisely control patient temperature in hospital critical care settings. Controlling body temperature, through cooling and warming, is becoming the standard of care for patients in select critical conditions and those undergoing a variety of surgical procedures. Alsius markets a comprehensive suite of catheter-based intravascular temperature management products that address the largely unmet clinical need for effective, accurate, easy-to-use and cost-effective control of body temperature in critical care patients. For more information, visit www.alsius.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, with respect to Alsius’ future financial or business performance. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including the risks described from time to time in Alsius’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks include, but are not limited to, the fact that Alsius must raise additional funds before the end of the second quarter of 2009 to continue its operations and finance the litigation described herein, uncertainty in the market for sales of medical equipment, and uncertainty in any complex litigation such as the litigation between Alsius and ZOLL described herein. Alsius undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made herein, except as required by law.
CONTACT: Gregory Tibbitts, Chief Financial Officer of Alsius Corporation,
+1-949-453-0150; or Media, Becky Soja of WeissComm Partners,
+1-415-946-1080, bsoja@wcpglobal.com
Web site: http://www.alsius.com/
