Cordis Will Ask for Reinstatement of Damages
WARREN, N.J., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. today upheld two separate 2005 jury
verdicts that found Medtronic, Inc. and Boston Scientific Corporation
infringed coronary stent patents owned by the Cordis Corporation, a Johnson
& Johnson company. Cordis now intends to ask the U.S. District Court in
Delaware to reinstate the damages judgments of $271 million against
Medtronic and $324 million against Boston Scientific, plus interest.
"We are very pleased that the Court of Appeals has recognized the
validity of the prior verdicts," said Todd Pope, Worldwide President,
Cordis Corporation. "We will urge the U.S. District Court to move
expeditiously to reinstate the two previous damages judgments, along with
the interest that has accrued during the appeals process."
Injunctive relief is not an issue because the infringing Medtronic and
Boston Scientific stents are no longer on the market. In March of 2005,
separate juries found that Medtronic's GFX and Microstent II infringed
Cordis' Palmaz (762) and Schatz (984) patents, and that Boston Scientific's
NIR stent infringed the Palmaz patent. The Palmaz and Schatz patents relate
to the fundamental design of the first coronary stent developed and
introduced by Cordis.
Both patent infringement cases were originally tried in 2000, with
Cordis receiving favorable jury verdicts. After a series of procedural
rulings and appeals, both cases were retried in March of 2005, with Cordis
prevailing again.
Cordis Corporation, a Johnson & Johnson company, is a worldwide leader
in the development and manufacture of interventional vascular technology.
Through the company's innovation, research and development, Cordis partners
with interventional cardiologists worldwide to treat millions of patients
who suffer from vascular disease. More information about Cordis Corporation
can be found at 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 Johnson & Johnson'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 of the Company's Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006. Copies of this
Form 10-K, as well as subsequent filings, are available online at
http://www.sec.gov, http://www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. Johnson &
Johnson does not undertake to update any forward- looking statements as a
result of new information or future events or developments.)
SOURCE Cordis Corporation
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http://www.jnj.com
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Media: Carol Goodrich, +1-908-412-7332;
Investors: Louise Mehrotra, +1-732-524-6491, or Stan Panasewicz,
+1-732-524-2524
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