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KCI Files New Patent Infringement Claims Against Smith & Nephew

^{Published on 2008-12-11 17:56:11 - Market Wire}
 

SAN ANTONIO--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE: KCI), announced today that, together with Wake Forest University Health Sciences, it has filed additional patent infringement claims against Smith & Nephew in the ongoing patent lawsuit in Federal District Court in San Antonio, Texas. KCI filed the new infringement claims against Smith & Nephew for the commercialization of a negative pressure wound therapy foam dressing kit. KCI believes the dressing kit infringes several patents in its intellectual property portfolio, including three patents licensed to KCI from Wake Forest. This case is currently set for trial on October 5, 2009.

"Wake Forest and KCI are leading innovators in negative pressure wound therapy, having invested significant time and resources in the development of a wound care therapy that has been used to successfully treat nearly three million patients worldwide," said Catherine M. Burzik, President and Chief Executive Officer of KCI. "Enforcing and protecting our intellectual property rights enables us to continue investing substantial resources in innovation that delivers advanced therapies and products that significantly improve the healing -- and the lives -- of people around the world."

About KCI

Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE: KCI) is a leading global medical technology company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of innovative, high-technology therapies and products for the wound care, tissue regeneration and therapeutic support system markets. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, KCI's success spans more than three decades and can be traced to a history deeply rooted in innovation and a passion for significantly improving the healing – and the lives – of patients around the world.

KCI's three primary businesses include:

Advanced Wound Care– Includes KCI's proprietary Vacuum Assisted Closure, or V.A.C. Therapy System, which has been clinically demonstrated to promote wound healing through unique mechanisms of action while reducing the overall cost of treating patients with complex wounds.

Regenerative Medicine– Represented by KCI's LifeCell business and includes tissue-based products for use in reconstructive, orthopedic and urogynecologic surgical procedures to repair soft tissue defects.

Therapeutic Support Systems - Includes specialty hospital beds, mattress replacement systems and overlays designed to address pulmonary complications associated with immobility, to reduce skin breakdown and assist caregivers in the safe and dignified handling of patients of size.

The company employs 7,000 people and markets its products in more than 20 countries. For more information about KCI, and how its products are changing the practice of medicine, visit [ www.KCI1.com ].

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the company's plans for research and development and the commercialization of new products. Forward-looking statements may contain words such as believes, expects, anticipates, estimates, projects, intends, should, seeks, future, continue, or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by them. Additional risks and factors are identified in KCI's filings with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (the SEC), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2007 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2008, which are available on the SEC's Web site at [ http://www.sec.gov ]. KCI undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.