Business Briefs.CellPro files for bankruptcy after losing patent battle over rights to stem cell stem cell In living organisms, an undifferentiated cell that can produce other cells that eventually make up specialized tissues and organs. There are two major types of stem cells, embryonic and adult. selection technology CellPro, Inc., Bothell, WA, announced plans to file for reorganization under US federal bankruptcy laws in the wake of losing a bruising patent battle over the rights to its stem cell selection system used in cancer treatments. The filing came after a US court of appeals in August upheld a federal district court ruling that ordered CellPro to pay Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University, mainly at Baltimore, Md. Johns Hopkins in 1867 had a group of his associates incorporated as the trustees of a university and a hospital, endowing each with $3.5 million. Daniel C. , Baltimore, MD, Becton Dickinson BD (NYSE: BDX), is a medical technology company that manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, BD employs 27,000 people in nearly 50 countries. & Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ, and Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Deerfield, IL, $7 million in damages for willful patent infringement patent infringement n. the manufacture and/or use of an invention or improvement for which someone else owns a patent issued by the government, without obtaining permission of the owner of the patent by contract, license or waiver. (Transplant News, 8/31/98). CellPro said it has signed a letter of intent to sell most of its intangible assets and intellectual property to Therapeutics, Inc., a subsidiary of VIMRx Nexell Pharmaceuticals, in exchange for $3 million in stock in VIMRx Pharmaceuticals. Upon completion of its sale, the company will file for bankruptcy and liquidate its remaining assets, which include a manufacturing facility and equipment worth $6-10 million. Rick Murdock, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of CellPro, resigned from the company following the announcement. Ironically, Murdock received a life saving stem cell transplant using his own company's technology to treat his own cancer a year ago. Under terms of the agreement, patients will not lose access to CellPro's CEPRATE stem cell selection system until an alternative is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. ). Baxter already has a competing product approved in Europe. Contact: Mark Handfelt, CellPro - (425) 485-7644 |
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