Court denies Cook petition for rehearing in ACell patent victory.ACell, Inc. (Jessup, MD) the owner of extracellular matrix extracellular matrix (eksˈ·tr  ·selˑ·y (ECM (1) (Enterprise Change Management) See version control and configuration management.(2) (Error Correcting Mode) A Group 3 fax capability that can test for errors within a row of pixels and request retransmission. ) patents, along with co-defendants Dr. Stephen Badylak and Dr. Alan Spievack, won a legal victory against Cook Biotech, Inc. and Purdue Research Foundation when the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied Cook's and Purdue's Petition for Rehearing rehearing n. conducting a hearing again based on the motion of one of the parties to a lawsuit, petition or criminal prosecution, usually by the court or agency which originally heard the matter. and Rehearing En Banc [Latin, French. In the bench.] Full bench. Refers to a session where the entire membership of the court will participate in the decision rather than the regular quorum. In other countries, it is common for a court to have more members than are . In the Petition Cook and Purdue had requested both the original Federal Circuit three judge panel and the entire Federal Circuit Court to reconsider a detailed 29 page written opinion issued on August 18, 2006. In that opinion the three judge panel unanimously reversed a July 2005 finding against ACell of 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. , holding instead that ACell's product does not infringe Purdue's patent. The Federal Circuit is the federal court which specializes in patent law and provides guidance to federal district courts on patent law issues. ACell's ECM is a graft material that can be implanted at the site of an injury or damaged tissue in order to stimulate a unique healing response. The graft attracts the body's own progenitor cells which have the potential to diversify into site specific tissues. Consequently, instead of the body's default healing mechanism of scar tissue formation, the body heals by remodeling remodeling /re·mod·el·ing/ (re-mod´el-ing) reorganization or renovation of an old structure. bone remodeling with new tissue almost as if the injury had never occurred. Because ACell already has multiple 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. ) approvals allowing its ECM to be placed in humans, the victorious conclusion of this litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. eliminates a major hurdle to the use of ACell's technology for solving a wide range of medical problems in various fields including orthopedics, cardiovascular, urology, gastrointestinal, general surgery and wound care. "ACell's plan is to accelerate the development and commercialization of advanced medical therapies involving our unique ECM technology by partnering with leading companies in the life sciences industry," explained Jim DeFrancesco, ACell's 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. and President. "This litigation was the biggest impediment to our ability to finalize partnerships. The difference in the way we are being perceived within the industry now that these victories are behind us is remarkable. We are delighted to finally be receiving the attention that we always felt we deserved." Miles Grody, ACell's Chief Operating Officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. and General Counsel, commented "Cook and Purdue have had their day in court, and there can be no question now that ACell's technology is completely independent of the claims they have made. Despite extensive document reviews and depositions during this three year litigation they failed to raise any legitimate material issue of fact meriting a trial. This attempt by Cook and Purdue to deprive ACell of its proprietary technology has completely failed, and we are glad to have it behind us." ACell was formed for the purpose of developing, manufacturing, and marketing products in the field of regenerative medicine. These tissue engineered products are based on naturally occurring ECM scaffolds. The company's proprietary ECM technology changes the fundamental healing response by encouraging the body's own regenerative capabilities to repair tissues and restore them to natural health. ACell's business plan involves building strategic relationships with leading companies in the life sciences field to make valuable ECM products available across a broad range of medical applications. ACell, Inc. 301-983-6830, www.acell.com |
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