District Court Awards Integra LifeSciences $6.37 Million in Damages
PLAINSBORO, N.J., Sept. 28, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq:IART) today announced that the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, ruling in the case Integra LifeSciences (et. al.) vs. Merck KGaA, et. al., has ordered Merck KgaA to pay Integra LifeSciences $6.37 million in damages. Integra has filed a motion requesting pre- and post-judgment interest.
The district court ruling follows a June 2003 order of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirming the trial court's earlier finding that Merck KGaA had infringed four of Integra's licensed patents, vacating the trial court's award of $15 million in damages and remanding the case back to the trial court for further factual development and recalculation of damages.
The lawsuit, which was filed in 1996, alleged that Merck KGaA and a non-profit research institution under contract from Merck KGaA had infringed various United States patents held by The Burnham Institute of San Diego that have been licensed to Integra. The patents at issue relate in various ways to technology involving peptides containing an arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) sequence or related cell surface receptors. Compounds containing the RGD sequence promote or inhibit cell adhesion by binding receptors called integrins found on the surface of almost every cell in the body. The patents include United States Patent Numbers 4,792,525, 4,879,237, 5,695,997, and 4,789,734.
"We are pleased that the District Court has, once again, awarded substantial damages for Merck's infringement of our patents," said John B. Henneman, III, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer.
The order of the District Court remains subject to appeal. Accordingly, Integra has not recorded any gain as a result of this order or the earlier jury verdict.
Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation is a diversified medical technology company that develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in a variety of applications. The primary applications for our products are neuro-trauma and neurosurgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, and general surgery. Integra is a leader in applying the principles of biotechnology to medical devices that improve patients' quality of life. Our corporate headquarters are in Plainsboro, New Jersey, and we have manufacturing and research facilities located throughout the world. We have approximately 1,200 employees. Please visit our website at (http://www.Integra-LS.com).
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the ultimate outcome of litigation. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from predicted or expected results. In addition, the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors identified under the heading "Factors Than May Affect Our Future Performance" included in the Business section of Integra's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003 and information contained in subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission could affect actual results.
CONTACT: Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation
John B. Henneman, III
Executive Vice President
Chief Administrative Officer
(609) 936-2481
jhenneman@integra-ls.com
Maria Platsis
Director of Corporate Development
and Investor Relations
(609) 936-2333
mplatsis@integra-ls.com