Cordis to Ask Judge to Overturn Patent Verdict
MIAMI, July 1 -- Cordis Corporation, a Johnson & Johnson company, will ask U.S. District Court Judge Sue Robinson to overturn a jury finding today in Wilmington, Delaware that found Boston Scientific's Ding and Jang patents to be valid and infringed by Cordis' CYPHER Sirolimus-eluting Stent and Bx Velocity family of stent products.
Cordis believes the verdict was not supported by the evidence and will ask the judge to reverse it. If the verdict is not overturned, Cordis will appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C.
The Ding patent, which Boston Scientific asserted against CYPHER, claims a two-layer drug coating on a drug eluting stent. The Jang patent, which was asserted against CYPHER and the Bx Velocity family, claims specific stent geometry.
A new jury will subsequently consider the amount of damages and whether the infringement was willful.
Also, a jury will subsequently determine damages owed to Cordis, based on a jury finding last month that Boston Scientific's Taxus drug-eluting stent and its Liberte and Express bare metal stents infringe Cordis' Palmaz patent on balloon expandable stents. That jury also found the bare metal Liberte stent infringes another Cordis patent -- the Gray patent -- which relates to flexible balloon expandable stents and expires in 2016.
Cordis Corporation, a Johnson & Johnson company, is a worldwide leader in developing and manufacturing interventional vascular technology. Through research, development and innovation, physicians worldwide are better able to treat the millions of patients who suffer from vascular disease. For more information about Cordis, please visit http://www.cordis.com
(This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the Company's expectations and projections. Risks and uncertainties include general industry conditions and competition; economic conditions, such as interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; technological advances and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approvals; domestic and foreign health care reforms and governmental laws and regulations; and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Exhibit 99(b) of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2005. Copies of this Form 10-K are available online at www.sec.gov or on request from the Company. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments.)
Source: Cordis Corporation
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