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Strategies & Market Trends : Steve's Channelling Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Justa Werkenstiff who wrote (27870)	9/18/2001 3:20:48 PM
From: Mr.Manners	Respond to of 30051

Tuesday September 18, 3:04 pm Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: Medtronic, Inc. Medtronic Accepts Injunction On U.S. Perfusion Rapid-Exchange Balloon Catheter Sales MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 2001--Officials at Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT - news) today acknowledged a court-imposed injunction that prohibits U.S. sales of perfusion rapid-exchange balloon catheters and stent delivery systems. In response, Medtronic issued the following statement: ``Medtronic remains strongly committed to the success and growth of its Vascular business. Today's ruling follows a decision by an arbitration panel on July 18, 2001, that disagreed with Medtronic's interpretation of a licensing agreement covering products in a limited portion of its Vascular business and less than three percent of Medtronic's revenues overall. In a dispute with Boston Scientific/SciMed, Inc., Medtronic contended that it had, in effect, purchased the right to use patents related to rapid-exchange perfusion coronary angioplasty when it purchased the angioplasty business of C.R. Bard, Inc., who had acquired the license agreement after patent litigation with Schneider (USA), Inc. Please note: The injunction has no impact on the sale of over-the-wire (OTW) stent delivery systems and balloon dilatation catheters which make up the larger portion of Medtronic's coronary vascular sales. The S660, S670 and S7 modular coronary stents, as well as the BeStent2 tubular stent, will continue to be sold in the U.S. on over-the-wire delivery systems and on both delivery systems outside of the U.S. - this decision involves only the rapid-exchange delivery system, not stent designs or patents. The company will continue to market rapid-exchange catheters outside the United States where its coronary stents are widely available. Medtronic made a good faith effort to negotiate a fair and reasonable business resolution of the patent dispute with Boston Scientific. However, when negotiations reached an impasse, Medtronic made the decision to instead dedicate these resources towards other pioneering work in developing and marketing breakthrough therapies to treat conditions throughout the entire vascular system. Medtronic has a number of significant growth platforms in place, and the Vascular business is no exception. Already a market-leading organization in the development and marketing of coronary stents, the industry's first distal protection system, and one of the first minimally-invasive treatments for AAA, Medtronic AVE is well-positioned to make continued contributions.`` Medtronic, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, is the world's leading medical technology company, providing lifelong solutions for people with chronic disease. Its Internet address is www.medtronic.com. Any statements made about the company's anticipated financial results and regulatory approvals are forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 27, 2001. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact: Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis Investor Relations: Rachael Scherer, 763/505-2694 or Public Relations: Jessica Stoltenberg, 763/505-3333 or Chris Campbell-Loth, 763/505-2633