Tuesday June 17 7:31 AM EDT
Company Press Release
Source: QUIDEL Corporation
QUIDEL Settles Becton Dickinson Lawsuit
SAN DIEGO, June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- QUIDEL Corporation (Nasdaq:QDEL) today announced
that it has settled the lawsuit filed against the Company in April 1997 by Becton Dickinson and
Company.
The lawsuit alleged that the Company's strep and chlamydia products and certain of its pregnancy
and ovulation products infringe two Becton patents. The products in issue represent a substantial
majority of the Company's present revenues.
Under the settlement agreement, the Company received a license from Becton under both patents in
exchange for a cash license fee, and agreed to pay a royalty on net sales of the products beginning
April 1, 1997. The Company also provided Becton a license to the Company's Q-Label technology
with a royalty payable to the Company on future sales.
QUIDEL currently estimates that the annual amortization of the license fee and the royalty payments
(based on current product sales) could result in an annual expense of approximately $1,900,000.
The Company believes that it has opportunities to mitigate the impact of this additional expense
through sales growth and improved margins from favorable product mix.
While QUIDEL denied the allegations related to the complaint and believes that its products do not
infringe the Becton patents and has admitted no liability in connection with the settlement, QUIDEL
believes the settlement was warranted when balanced against the anticipated defense costs,
uncertainties of litigation in general, and the expected diversion of management's time and attention
over an extended period.
Steven T. Frankel, President and Chief Executive Officer of QUIDEL, said, ``We are pleased that
the uncertainties of this litigation are behind us. We look forward to again focusing our energies on
the successful implementation of our long-range strategies: building on our technology and
capitalizing on the innovation inherent in our waived Strep A and H. Pylori tests.''
QUIDEL Corporation discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets rapid immunodiagnostic
products for point-of-care detection of human medical conditions and illnesses. These products
provide simple, accurate, and cost- effective diagnoses for human fertility, infectious diseases,
allergies and autoimmune disorders. QUIDEL's products are sold to professionals in the physician's
office and clinical laboratory, and to consumers through retail drug stores.
This press release contains forward looking statements regarding QUIDEL and its future profitability
and sales-related activities. Actual results could differ materially from those described or implied in
this press release as a result of a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the future growth of
the waived-only markets, any adverse actions by the Company's distribution partners, competitive
products, other economic factors affecting the Company's markets, the degree of acceptance that
new products achieve, and seasonality, as certain of these items have been discussed in the
Company's annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Form 10-Q.
SOURCE: QUIDEL Corporation
Contact: Steven T. Frankel, President and Chief Executive Officer, 619-552-7902, or Steven C. Burke, Chief
Financial Officer, both of QUIDEL Corporation, 619-552-7960
More news for referenced ticker symbols: QDEL, and related industries: medical. |
