Scheduling Hearing Set for January 12, 2006
BURLINGTON, Mass., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Palomar Medical
Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: PMTI), a leading researcher and developer of light-
based systems for cosmetic treatments, today announced that the U.S. District
Court for the District of Massachusetts issued several rulings in Palomar's
favor in connection with an ongoing patent infringement lawsuit filed by
Palomar and the Massachusetts General Hospital ("MGH") against Cutera, Inc.
In this lawsuit, Palomar and MGH accuse Cutera's CoolGlide family of products
of infringing U.S. Patent No. 5,735,844 (the '844 patent). Yesterday, the
Court denied Cutera Inc.'s requests for summary judgment of invalidity and
non-infringement. The next step in the lawsuit is a jury trial, and Palomar
will ask the Court to set a trial date at a January 12, 2006 scheduling
hearing. If Palomar prevails at trial, Cutera may be ordered to pay millions
in damages for past sales and ordered to stop selling infringing products.
Palomar does not plan on licensing Cutera going forward. Palomar also alleges
that Cutera's activities constitute willful infringement of the '844 patent.
If Palomar prevailed on such a claim, Cutera could be forced to pay up to
triple the amount of the original damages assessment.
In the summary judgment ruling, the District Court denied Cutera's request
for summary judgment that the '844 patent is invalid over prior art, namely
articles by Kuhns and Ohshiro. Also in the summary judgment ruling, the
District Court denied Cutera's request for summary judgment that Cutera's
products do not infringe the '844 patent. The Court held that Cutera was
attempting to read limitations into the patent claims that did not exist.
Patricia Davis, Palomar's General Counsel and a registered patent
attorney, commented, "It is important to note that the Court rejected Cutera's
invalidity arguments and held that Cutera's references, namely articles by
Kuhns and Ohshiro, do not anticipate the asserted claims of the '844 patent.
At the same time, the Court also rejected Cutera's urging to limit the
patent's true scope with regard to infringement. We continue to believe in
the strength of our infringement position against Cutera."
Chief Executive Officer Joseph P. Caruso commented, "We are very pleased
with the Court's ruling, and we are looking forward to having a trial as soon
as possible. We have always believed in the strength of the '844 patent as
well as its corresponding patent family members, and we will continue to
aggressively enforce all of our patents."
A copy of the Court's ruling is available at:
http://pacer.mad.uscourts.gov/recentopinions.html.
In addition to the summary judgment ruling, the Court also denied a Cutera
discovery motion and a motion by Cutera to re-open claim construction on the
claim term "applicator."
In addition to the lawsuit described above, on April 7, 2005, Palomar and
MGH filed a second lawsuit against Cutera in the same Court accusing Cutera's
new pulsed light products for hair removal, including the ProWave 770, of
infringing both the '844 patent and related U.S. Patent No. 5,595,568 (the
'568 patent). This lawsuit is in its early stages and is progressing.
About Palomar Medical Technologies Inc: Palomar is a leading researcher
and developer of light-based systems for cosmetic treatments. Palomar
pioneered the optical hair removal field, when, in 1997, it introduced the
first high-powered laser hair removal system. Since then, many of the major
advances in light-based hair removal have been based on Palomar technology.
There are now millions of light-based cosmetic procedures performed around the
world every year in physician offices, clinics, spas and salons. Palomar is
testing many new and exciting applications to further advance the hair removal
market and other cosmetic applications. Palomar is uniquely focused on
developing proprietary light-based technology for introduction to the mass
markets. Palomar has an agreement with The Gillette Company (NYSE: G) to
develop and potentially commercialize a patented home-use, light-based hair
removal device for women, an agreement with Johnson & Johnson Consumer
Companies to develop and potentially commercialize home-use, light-based
devices for reducing or reshaping body fat including cellulite, reducing the
appearance of skin aging, and reducing or preventing acne and awarded a
contract by the Department of the Army to develop a light-based self-treatment
device for Pseudofolliculitis Barbae ("PFB").
For more information on Palomar and its products, visit Palomar's website
at http://www.palomarmedical.com. To continue receiving the most up-to-date
information and latest news on Palomar as it happens, sign up to receive
automatic e-mail alerts by going to the E-mail Alerts page in the Investor
Relations' section of the website.
With the exception of the historical information contained in this
release, the matters described herein contain forward-looking statements,
including but not limited to statements relating to new markets, development
and introduction of new products, and financial projections that involve risk
and uncertainties that may individually or mutually impact the matters herein,
and cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially from
such forward-looking statements. These risk factors include, but are not
limited to, results of future operations, technological difficulties in
developing or introducing new products, the results of future research, lack
of product demand and market acceptance for current and future products, the
effect of economic conditions, challenges in managing joint ventures and
research with third parties and government contracts, the impact of
competitive products and pricing, governmental regulations with respect to
medical devices, including whether FDA clearance will be obtained for future
products, the results of litigation, difficulties in collecting royalties,
potential infringement of third-party intellectual property rights, and/or
other factors, which are detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC
reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2004 and the Company's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to release
publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that
may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to
reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Contacts: Investor Relations
Palomar Medical Technologies Inc
781-993-2411
ir@palomarmedical.com
SOURCE Palomar Medical Technologies Inc.
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CONTACT:
Investor Relations of Palomar Medical
Technologies Inc., +1-781- 993-2411, ir@palomarmedical.com
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