BioSphere Medical Announces Artes Medical Files Complaint Alleging Patent Infringement.Business Editors and Medical Writers ROCKLAND, Mass.--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 9, 2001 BioSphere biosphere, irregularly shaped envelope of the earth's air, water, and land encompassing the heights and depths at which living things exist. The biosphere is a closed and self-regulating system (see ecology), sustained by grand-scale cycles of energy and of Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq:BSMD) and its subsidiary BSMD Ventures, Inc. learned yesterday that Artes Medical USA, Inc., based in California, filed a suit in the United States District Court United States District Court In the U.S., any of the 94 trial courts of general jurisdiction in the federal judicial system. Each state, as well as the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, has at least one federal district court. for the Central District of California against BioSphere Medical, Inc. The complaint alleges that the company's microspheres infringe United States Patent No. 5,344,452, allegedly assigned to Artes. As previously announced, BioSphere received a letter from Artes, on Friday, February 2nd, alleging its products infringe the Artes patent. Subsequently, BioSphere filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware The United States District Court for the District of Delaware is the Federal district court having jurisdiction over the entire state of Delaware. The Court sits in Wilmington. Currently, three judges and two magistrate judges preside over the court. about the same issue. "We anticipated this action by Artes," stated John Carnuccio, BioSphere Medical's president and chief executive officer. "It is one of the reasons we took affirmative action affirmative action, in the United States, programs to overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. earlier this week to file a complaint in Delaware seeking a declaration that the Artes patent is invalid and that our microspheres do not infringe the Artes patent. Our belief remains strong that the allegations are without merit. We do not believe our product infringes any claim of this patent and, furthermore, we believe the patent will be found to be invalid." The company's Embosphere(R) Microspheres are the subject of United States Patent numbers 5,635,215, 5,648,100 and 4,452,916. About BioSphere Medical, Inc. BioSphere Medical, Inc., based in Rockland, Massachusetts, is a medical device company focused on embolotherapy, the treatment of tumors and vascular malformations by occluding their blood supply. The company is pioneering the use of patented and proprietary bioengineered microspheres as a new class of embolics. This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the success of the company in its lawsuit related to United States Patent No. 5,344,452. Among the important factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those indicated by forward-looking statements in this release are the failure to obtain and defend patents and other proprietary protection for the company's products; failure of the company to achieve or maintain necessary regulatory approvals, either in the United States or internationally, with respect to the manufacture and sale of its products; failure to successfully develop and commercialize the Embosphere(R) Microspheres and HepaSphere SAP(TM) Microsphere Not to be confused with Glass microphere. This article largely refers to micropheres or protein protocells as small spherical units postulated by some scientists as a key stage in the origin of life. technologies for uterine artery embolization Uterine artery embolization (UAE) or Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) is a procedure where an interventional radiologist uses a catheter to deliver small particles that block the blood supply to the fibroids. See also
1. the process or condition of becoming an embolus. 2. therapeutic introduction of a substance into a vessel in order to occlude it. and other applications; the absence of or delays and cancellations of, product orders; the delay in the introduction of new products; competitive pressures; the inability of the company to raise additional funds, if needed, to finance the development, marketing, and sales of its products; general economic conditions; as well as those risk factors detailed in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. for the year ended December 31, 1999, Form 10-Q Form 10-Q See 10-Q. for the quarter ended September 30, 2000 and other periodic reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion