Federal Court of Australia Upholds Smith & Nephew's Appeal
MELBOURNE, Australia, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Court overturns previous interlocutory injunction against Smith
& Nephew's foam dressing kits in Australia
Smith & Nephew Inc.'s Advanced Wound Management division (LSE: SN; NYSE:
SNN) announced that the Federal Court of Australia has ruled in its favour
and set aside KCI Medical Australia's (KCIMA) interlocutory injunction
restraining Smith & Nephew from commercialising in Australia foam dressing
kits for use in negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT). KCIMA has until 4 pm
on Monday 12 October 2009 to seek a stay of the order setting aside the
injunction while they seek to appeal the decision.
"We are very pleased with the outcome of the appeal and remain committed
to providing a strong and diverse product portfolio, with which the clinician
can exercise her or his own best judgment when tailoring NPWT for each
patient," said Leon Hoare, President, Asia Pacific, Smith & Nephew Advanced
Wound Management. "This is an important milestone for Smith & Nephew and
follows a finding in the UK Court of Appeal that a corresponding UK patent is
invalid."
KCIMA's claim against Smith & Nephew for patent infringement is
vigorously contested by Smith & Nephew. Smith & Nephew is confident it will
succeed at final trial at which it will argue that the patent is not valid
under Australian law.
The RENASYS* NPWT product line includes the RENASYS GO and RENASYS EZ, as
well as the RENASYS-G and RENASYS-F dressing kits. The RENASYS product line
offers unmatched flexibility to support clinical judgment based on the unique
needs of each wound, patient and care setting.
For more information regarding Smith & Nephew, please visit our Web site
Inquiries
Investors
Liz Hewitt
+44 (0)20 7401 7606
Group Director Corporate Affairs
Smith & Nephew
Press
Katie Cralle
+1 212 333 3810
Brunswick Group
Other Inquiries
Leon Hoare
+61 3 8540 6777
Smith & Nephew Healthcare
Advanced Wound Management
About Smith & Nephew
Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business, specialising in
Orthopaedics, including Reconstruction, Trauma and Clinical Therapies;
Endoscopy and Advanced Wound Management. Smith & Nephew is a global leader in
arthroscopy and advanced wound management and is one of the leading global
orthopaedics companies.
Smith & Nephew is dedicated to helping improve people's lives. The
Company prides itself on the strength of its relationships with its surgeons
and professional healthcare customers, with whom its name is synonymous with
high standards of performance, innovation and trust. The Company operates in
32 countries around the world. Annual sales in 2008 were nearly $3.8 billion.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In
particular, statements regarding expected revenue growth and trading margins
discussed under "Outlook" are forward-looking statements as are discussions
of our product pipeline. These statements, as well as the phrases "aim",
"plan", "intend", "anticipate", "well-placed", "believe", "estimate",
"expect", "target", "consider" and similar expressions, are generally
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important
factors (including, but not limited to, the outcome of litigation, claims and
regulatory approvals) that could cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of Smith & Nephew, or industry results, to differ materially
from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements. Please refer to the documents that Smith &
Nephew has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the
U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Smith & Nephew's
most recent annual report on Form 20F, for a discussion of certain of these
factors.
All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on
information available to Smith & Nephew as of the date hereof. All written or
oral forward-looking statements attributable to Smith & Nephew or any person
acting on behalf of Smith & Nephew are expressly qualified in their entirety
by the foregoing. Smith & Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update
or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any
change in Smith & Nephew's expectation with regard thereto or any change in
events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
* Trademark of Smith & Nephew. Certain marks registered US Patent and
Trademark Office.
SOURCE: Smith & Nephew Inc.
CONTACT: Investors, Liz Hewitt,
+44 (0)20-7401-7606,
Group Director Corporate Affairs, Smith & Nephew; or
Press, Katie Cralle,
+1-212-333-3810 , Brunswick Group; or
Other Inquiries,
Leon Hoare,
+61-3-8540-6777,
Smith & Nephew Healthcare, Advanced Wound Management
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