MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AGA Medical Holdings, Inc. (AGA Medical) (Nasdaq:AGAM) today announced the Düsseldorf Regional Court has awarded €2.1 million in damages to AGA Medical as a result of a patent infringement case filed by AGA Medical against Occlutech GmbH (Occlutech), based in Jena, Germany. AGA Medical is a leading developer of interventional devices for the minimally invasive treatment of structural heart defects and vascular abnormalities. AGA Medical had sued Occlutech for patent infringement of the German part of one of its European patents, granted in October 2005, for intravascular occlusion devices and the method of manufacturing such devices. The €2.1 million awarded to AGA Medical was the amount the company sought. Although subject to appeal, AGA Medical is entitled to immediately enforce the decision.
“AGA Medical has prevailed against Occlutech in two different branches of the German courts, won cases with respect to both patent validity and infringement, and now has been awarded significant damages by the Düsseldorf court,” said John Barr, president and chief executive officer of AGA Medical. “Each positive ruling reinforces the strength of our patent portfolio and Occlutech’s infringement of our intellectual property.”
Timeline:
* August 2006: AGA Medical filed initial patent infringement suit against Occlutech.
* July 2007: Regional Court in Düsseldorf entered a judgment in AGA Medical’s favor, which Occlutech subsequently appealed.
* December 2008: German Court of Appeals dismissed Occlutech’s appeal and entered a judgment in favor of AGA Medical that Occlutech infringed its patent (appeal pending).
* October 2009: German Federal Patent Court ruled that AGA Medical’s patent was valid (appeal pending).
* June 2010: Regional Court in Dusseldorf entered judgment awarding AGA Medical the entire amount requested of €2.1 million as damages resulting from Occlutech’s infringement of AGA Medical’s patent.
About AGA Medical
AGA Medical, based in Plymouth, Minnesota, is a leading innovator and manufacturer of medical devices for the treatment of structural heart defects and vascular abnormalities. AGA Medical’s AMPLATZER® occlusion devices offer minimally invasive, transcatheter treatments that have been clinically shown to be safe and highly effective in defect closure. AGA Medical is the only manufacturer with occlusion devices approved to close seven different structural heart defects, with leading market positions for each of its devices. More than 1,650 articles supporting the benefits of AMPLATZER products have been published in medical literature. AGA Medical markets its AMPLATZER products in 112 countries worldwide to interventional cardiologists, electrophysiologists, interventional radiologists and vascular surgeons. More information about the company and its products can be found at http://www.amplatzer.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may include “forward-looking statements,” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, including, in particular, statements regarding the resolution of the company’s lawsuits with Occlutech. These statements are based on the beliefs of our management as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, the company. These statements reflect the company’s current views with respect to future events, are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. These factors include, among other things: The outcome of any appeals, Occlutech’s compliance with court decisions, the ability of the company to collect on any amounts awarded, potential future litigation and other risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in the company’s periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new information or events or circumstances that occur after the date of this news release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or otherwise. Readers are advised to review the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (which are available from the SEC’s EDGAR database at www.sec.gov, at various SEC reference facilities in the United States and via the company’s website at www.amplatzer.com).
