GSII - Good news!
Thursday April 15, 7:30 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: General Surgical Innovations, Inc.
General Surgical Innovations Reports Favorable Injunction Ruling
CUPERTINO, Calif., April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- General Surgical Innovations, Inc. (GSI) (Nasdaq: GSII - news) said today that the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose, California, has enjoined a patent-infringing competitor from supplying balloon dissection-based devices for minimally invasive surgery. As a result of an injunction put in place yesterday, by late 1999 GSI believes it will be the only supplier of this technology for medical procedures such as hernia repair, treatment of stress urinary incontinence, saphenous vein harvesting for heart bypass surgery, and other procedures.
On April 14, 1999, the Court entered judgement that GSI's Patent No. 5,514,153 is valid and that Origin Medsystems, Inc. (Origin), a subsidiary of Guidant Corporation, has willfully infringed the patent. The judgment was entered based on a jury verdict reached on February 8, 1999 to the same effect. In addition, effective immediately, Origin will not be able to market or sell the PDB1000, PDB2, ExtraView or VasoView products to any customer who was not a user of the products as of the date of the jury verdict on February 8, 1999. The judgement also requires that Origin pay damages of about 12.9 million dollars plus interest. Additional damages will be assessed for infringing acts by Origin since December 31, 1998.
The Court entered an injunction, to take effect on November 15, 1999, prohibiting Origin from infringing and from inducing the infringement of the patent in suit. Specifically, Origin will not be able to sell any of its balloon dissection products, including the PDB1OOO, PDB2, ExtraView or VasoView products after that date. Origin must pay a 30 percent royalty on sales of products covered by the injunction and sold prior to November 15, 1999. The Court declined to multiply the damages, even though infringement was found to be willful, and ruled that GSI could not recover its attorney fees.
Greg Casciaro, President and CEO of GSI, stated, ''This injunction clearly establishes GSI as the market leader in balloon dissection technology. We are extremely pleased that the validity of our patent and Origin's infringement of our property rights has been recognized in the Court's judgement and injunction. The judgement and injunction should eliminate the confusion which has existed in the market place since the jury verdict, and we expect that business decisions will now be made with the recognition that GSI's patent rights must be respected.''
GSI's SPACEMAKER® tissue dissection systems are based on the company's patented balloon dissection technology and incorporate ancillary instruments to facilitate minimally invasive surgical procedures. Minimally invasive, or ''keyhole,'' surgeries were initially limited to procedures carried out within the abdominal cavity which provided a working space for the surgeon. Balloon dissection methods are used to create working spaces where no naturally occurring space exists and have enabled surgeons to extend their use of minimally invasive techniques to a broader range of procedures. With the use of GS1 technology, patients may receive such benefits as reduced pain and faster recovery times.
Headquartered in Cupertino, California, General Surgical Innovations, Inc. develops, manufactures and sells tissue dissection systems based on the company's patented balloon technology for minimally invasive surgical procedures. The company's products are specifically designed for endoscopic and laparoscopic techniques used in general, cardiovascular, orthopedic, cosmetic and reconstructive surgeries to create an operating space at the surgical site, lessen tissue damage and improve patient recovery time. The company has developed a broad range of balloon shapes and sizes to be used for various surgical techniques, procedures, and market segments. GSI distributes its products worldwide through a network of distribution partners and a direct sales force. For additional information, please visit the company's World Wide Web site at www.gsii.com.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements, the accuracy of which is necessarily subject to risks and uncertainties. Future market demand for the company's products, among other matters discussed in this release, may differ significantly from the discussion of such matters in the forward-looking statements. Such differences may be based upon factors within General Surgical Innovations' control, such as strategic planning decisions by management and reallocation of internal resources, or on factors outside of General Surgical Innovations' control, such as the outcome of patent litigation, as well as those factors set forth under the heading ''Factors Affecting Future Results'' in General Surgical Innovations' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 1998, Form 1O-Q for the quarters ended September 30, 1998 and December 31, 1998, and other company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE: General Surgical Innovations, Inc.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More |
