MONTREAL, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - CryoCath(R) Technologies Inc., the global leader in cryotherapy products to treat cardiac arrhythmias, today provided an update on the enforcement of its patent portfolio.
Since its inception 13 years ago CryoCath has been, and continues to be the clear leader in innovation in the field of cryotherapy devices with cardiac applications and will continue to vigorously enforce its patent rights. CryoCath owns over 100 issued patents world-wide and has more than 100 patent applications pending. In the last five years, CryoCath has filed over 140 patent applications. Many of CryoCath’s pending applications are expected to issue between 2008 and 2010, continuing to strengthen CryoCath’s intellectual property position.
In October 2007, CryoCath filed a U.S. patent infringement suit against CryoCor, Inc. alleging infringement of six patents. Since that time, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued CryoCath two additional patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 7,303,554 and 7,318,821. CryoCath will amend its complaint to assert these patents in this patent infringement suit.
In early February 2008, CryoCath also filed a claim against CryoCor, alleging infringement of a ninth CryoCath patent, U.S. Patent # 5,147,355 entitled “Cryoablation Catheter and Method for Performing Cryoablation” issued to Friedman. Additionally CryoCath believes CryoCor and co-plaintiff AMS Research Corporation assert AMS’s patents in their January 2008 action against CryoCath in a manner that illegally extends at least one patent beyond its scope. Therefore, CryoCath filed counterclaims alleging patent misuse, antitrust, and unfair competition. CryoCath believes CryoCor’s case is without merit, and that it does not infringe the two patents asserted in the January 2008 action or the foreign counterparts.
Last month, the USPTO declared an Interference to determine the first to invent certain pre-cooling technology. By declaring the Interference, the USPTO allows CryoCath to get involved and present evidence to demonstrate CryoCath’s priority to the technology. The USPTO operates under a system of “first-to-invent” rather than “first-to-file”. Therefore, CryoCath now has the opportunity to present evidence that will establish it was indeed first-to-invent the pre-cooling technology at issue in the Interference and claimed in a subset of claims in the two CryoCath patents.
CryoCath’s two patents at issue in the Interference, also asserted in the October 2007 action, claim priority to an application filed in January 1999. Consistent with the process of innovation, CryoCath invented this technology before it filed its January 1999 application and well before the August 2000 filing date relied on by CryoCor in requesting the Interference. CryoCath believes the USPTO will resolve the Interference in its favor.
CryoCath believes its strong infringement position for all six of its patents presently asserted, its two new patents that will be asserted in the October 2007 action, and its Friedman patent asserted in February 2008, will effectively protect CryoCath’s business interests. CryoCath is also confident that the USPTO will conclude from CryoCath’s participation in the Interference that CryoCath was the first to invent the technology at issue.
“Our team at CryoCath has worked long and hard to successfully build a strong intellectual property portfolio, creating the foundation on which our success is built,” said Jan Keltjens, President and CEO of CryoCath. “We will defend our company’s and stakeholders interests vigorously. Resolution of the ongoing dispute may take several years. We expect them to be resolved completely to our satisfaction and that CryoCath’s leading efforts to create and commercialize our unique and innovative technology and to enforce our substantial intellectual property covering that technology will be fully recognized.”
About CryoCath
CryoCath - www.cryocath.com - is a medical technology company that leads the world in cryotherapy products to treat cardiac arrhythmias. With a priority focus on providing physicians with a complete solution of catheter products to treat cardiac arrhythmias, CryoCath has multiple products approved in the U.S., across Europe and several ROW countries. The Company is developing additional products to expand its pipeline of products to treat cardiac arrhythmias.
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including with respect to the timing of regulatory trials and their outcome. For information identifying legislative or regulatory, economic, climatic, currency, technological, competitive and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward looking statements, see CryoCath’s annual report available at www.sedar.com under the heading Risks and Uncertainties in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis section.
CONTACT: visit our website at www.cryocath.com, or contact: Michael Moore,
Investor Relations, Phone: (416) 815-0700 ext. 241, Fax: (416) 815-0080,
E-mail: mmoore@equicomgroup.com
