ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Advanced Wound Management division of Smith & Nephew, Inc., a subsidiary of Smith & Nephew plc. , notes the decision returned today by a jury in the patent litigation brought by Kinetic Concepts Inc. before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. In that case, the jury found U.S. Patent Nos. 5,645,081 and 7,216,651 to be infringed by Smith & Nephew's RENASYS-F (Foam) Dressing Kit, which delivers Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) to patients in need. The jury also returned an advisory verdict that the '081 and '651 patents are not invalid. Because that verdict is merely advisory, the Court will later decide whether Smith & Nephew proved that the patents are invalid.
"While we are disappointed with the jury's findings, Smith & Nephew has had better results in other jurisdictions, including invalidating KCI's related patents in the United Kingdom and Germany. We remain firm in our belief that we do not infringe any valid U.S. patents," said Robin Carlstein, Senior Vice President, Smith & Nephew Advanced Wound Devices.
Smith & Nephew's RENASYS-G, the gauze-based NPWT platform, was not at issue in the Texas trial and will not be affected by its final outcome.
Smith & Nephew is dedicated to helping improve people's lives. The Company prides itself on the strength of its relationships with its surgeons and professional healthcare customers, with whom its name is synonymous with high standards of performance, innovation and trust. The Company operates in 32 countries around the world. Annual sales in 2009 were nearly $3.8 billion.
All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Smith & Nephew as of the date hereof. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Smith & Nephew or any person acting on behalf of Smith & Nephew are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing. Smith & Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Smith & Nephew's expectation with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
CONTACT: Investors, Liz Hewitt, or Phil Cowdy, both of Smith & Nephew,
+44(0)20-7401-7646; or Press, Katie Cralle, Brunswick Group,
+1-212-333-3810; or Other inquiries, Robin Carlstein, Senior Vice
President, Smith & Nephew Advanced Wound Devices, +1-727-399-3766
Web site: http://www.smith-nephew.com/
