HULL, England, May 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Smith & Nephew’s Advanced Wound Management business announces that the Patents Court, in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, has ruled as invalid 7 out of the 10 claims asserted against Smith & Nephew of the Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) patent EP 0620720, that is licensed to Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (KCI) . The 3 other claims asserted in the patent remain in effect in the United Kingdom. The decision is subject to appeal and Smith & Nephew will be pursuing its appeal to invalidate those three claims as a matter of urgency.
Smith & Nephew is pleased that this judgement has invalidated the main claim of the EP 0620720 patent. This complements the German decision of March 2009 where at the Federal Munich Patent Court the court ruled (subject to appeal) that all claims of the patent are invalid.
“We will continue to serve the United Kingdom NPWT market and offer the new RENASYS(TM) EZ, RENASYS(TM) GO and RENASYS(TM)- G (gauze) NPWT products. Smith & Nephew remains committed to our strategy to ensure that clinicians have a range of treatment options. This ruling has no impact on Smith & Nephew’s ability to sell gauze-based NPWT systems, and we will continue our efforts to ensure that clinicians have options in NPWT. We intend to pursue the remaining asserted claims as a matter of urgency,” said Robin Carlstein, Senior Vice President of Advanced Wound Devices at Smith & Nephew.
About Smith & Nephew
Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business, specializing in Orthopaedics, including Reconstruction, Trauma and Clinical Therapies, Endoscopy and Advanced Wound Management. Smith & Nephew is a global leader in arthroscopy and advanced wound management and is one of the leading global orthopaedics companies.
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 2008 were nearly $3.8 billion.
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Forward-Looking Statements
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CONTACT: Investors & Analysts, Liz Hewitt, +44(0)20-7401-7646, Group
Director Corporate Affairs, Smith & Nephew; or Media, Robin Carlstein,
+1-727-399-3746, Senior Vice President Advanced Wound Devices Smith &
Nephew
