SINGAPORE, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Biosensors International Group, Ltd. (Bloomberg: BIG SP) today announced that it has successfully defended against legal claims and defeated a request for an injunction request brought against it in the court in The Hague by Vancouver, BC-based Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc and Boston Scientific. The result of the court’s decision to deny the claims and injunction allows Biosensors to continue the production of its Axxion(TM) drug eluting stent (“DES”) in the Netherlands with distribution throughout Europe and other parts of the world where regulatory approval for the device has been secured.
The legal action, commenced on December 9, 2005 in The Netherlands, claimed that the Axxion(TM) stent infringes on European patent No. 0706376 (the “European Patent”) which is jointly owned by Angiotech and the University of British Columbia. Boston Scientific is the exclusive licensee of the European Patent for cardiovascular medicine, which encompasses, among other things, claims describing a stent that uses a composition of Paclitaxel and a polymeric coating as a drug carrier. The judge ruled that Biosensors Axxion(TM) DES does not infringe the European Patent.
Yoh-Chie Lu, Chairman and CEO of Biosensors said, “We are obviously very pleased with the Court’s decision in this matter as the decision of the Dutch court enables us to continue to sell the Axxion(TM) DES and to pursue our business model. The introduction and roll out of Axxion(TM) in Europe has been an important step for Biosensors as it has allowed us to build our sales and marketing infrastructure, initiate market share and develop the necessary systems for the eventual launch of our flagship BioMatrix(TM) DES. BioMatrix(TM) features a fully biodegradable polymer and our own proprietary drug, and we plan for it to drive our growth in the coming years.”
Mr. Lu further noted that the legal action only involved its Axxion(TM) product and does not relate to BioMatrix(TM), which is expected to receive CE Mark approval in the first half of 2006.
About Biosensors International Group, Ltd.
Biosensors develops, manufactures and markets innovative medical devices used in interventional cardiology and critical care procedures. Biosensors is well-positioned to emerge as a leader in drug-eluting stents, an evolving therapy that is rapidly gaining market share from traditional therapies such as bare-metal stenting and open-heart surgery. Biosensors has internally developed technology to address each component of a drug-eluting stent system, including a stent, a stent delivery catheter, a bioresorbable polymer and a proprietary anti-restenotic drug. It is pursuing two separate drug-eluting stent programs, BioMatrix(TM) and Axxion(TM), and has licensed aspects of its drug-eluting stent technology to four companies.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements herein include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “project” or “continue” or the negative thereof or other similar words. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, customer acceptance and market share gains, competition from companies that have greater financial resources; introduction of new products into the marketplace by competitors; successful product development; dependence on significant customers; the ability to recruit and retain quality employees as Biosensors grows; and economic and political conditions globally. Actual results may differ materially from those discussed in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and Biosensors assumes no duty to update them to reflect new, changing or unanticipated events or circumstances.
Media Contact Biosensors International Group Ms. Tina Lim, Executive, Corporate Communications Tel: (65) 6213 5712 Email: media@biosensors.com Media Relations / Investor Relations Firm Allen & Caron Inc. Mr. Matt Clawson Executive Vice President, Investor Relations Tel: (1) 949 474 4300 Email: matt@allencaron.com
Biosensors International Group, Ltd.
CONTACT: Ms. Tina Lim, Executive, Corporate Communications of BiosensorsInternational Group, (65) 6213 5712, media@biosensors.com; or MediaRelations - Investor Relations, Mr. Matt Clawson Executive Vice President,Investor Relations of Allen & Caron Inc., +1-949-474-4300,matt@allencaron.com, for Biosensors International Group, Ltd.
