MiMedx Obtains Successful Settlement Of Its Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation, Medline Industries And Liventa Bioscience, Inc.
MARIETTA, Ga., Jan. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MiMedx Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDXG), the leading biopharmaceutical company developing and marketing regenerative and therapeutic biologics utilizing proprietary human placental tissue allografts, today announced that it successfully settled the Company's longstanding patent infringement lawsuit against Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation, Inc. ("MTF"), Medline Industries, Inc. ("Medline") and Liventa Bioscience, Inc. ("Liventa").
In April 2014, MiMedx filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against MTF, Medline, and Liventa (formerly known as AFCell Medical, Inc.) for permanent injunctive relief and unspecified damages. In its suit, MiMedx asserted, among other things, that MTF, Liventa and Medline infringed MiMedx's U.S. Patent No. 8,709,494. In addition to the allegations of patent infringement, the lawsuit also asserted that Liventa and Medline knowingly and willfully made false and misleading representations about their respective products to providers, patients and in some cases, prospective investors.
In June of 2016, MiMedx reached a confidential settlement of the false advertising claims against Liventa for an undisclosed sum of money paid to MiMedx. Subsequent to that settlement, MiMedx focused its attention on the patent-related claims against MTF, Medline and Liventa. Those claims were scheduled to be tried before a federal court later this month.
However, the Company was recently able to successfully settle its patent infringement claims against MTF, Medline and Liventa. While the details of the settlement are confidential, MiMedx has obtained a Consent Decree and Final Judgment on the validity of the '494 patent, and will receive an undisclosed monetary sum. A Stipulation of Dismissal with prejudice of all of the parties' respective claims accompanied the Court papers. In layman's terms, this means the case against the Defendants has ended and the entirety of the dispute has been settled. In accordance with those publicly filed documents, Defendants have also agreed to amend the process used to manufacture the accused products so as to avoid any conflict with the '494 patent in the future.
Parker H. "Pete" Petit, Chairman and CEO, said, "This settlement marks an amicable and successful end to this long fought case. We are extremely pleased with the outcome. MiMedx has spent many millions of dollars in the development of our proprietary products, and we will continue to protect our intellectual property rights. However, I have always said that the true test of our intellectual property would be in the market place, and clearly, our market leadership and performance attest to that criterion."
Bill Taylor, President and COO, echoed the sentiment, "This case and its outcome will be a strong reference point and illustration to use in any discussions we may need to undertake with competitors who infringe our patents. The Consent Decree and Final Judgment as well as the Stipulation of Dismissal, which together will bring this case to a close, speak for themselves. We believe these documents should assist us in our application for injunctive relief as we pursue patent infringers in the future. It is our strong belief that the litigation process with respect to any future encroachments on our intellectual property at issue here should be shorter, simpler and less expensive as a result of this outcome."
"I know that some skeptics have asserted in the past that the MiMedx patents would not be defensible or otherwise were not valid. I think we have proven those speculations wrong. We now have over 100 issued and allowed patents with over 45 related to tissue products. We feel confident that this patent portfolio will continue to grow in value," concluded Petit.
About MiMedx
MiMedx® is the leading biopharmaceutical company developing and marketing regenerative and therapeutic biologics utilizing human placental tissue allografts with patent-protected processes for multiple sectors of healthcare. "Innovations in Regenerative Medicine" is the framework behind our mission to give physicians products and tissues to help the body heal itself. We process the human placental tissue utilizing our proprietary PURION® Process among other processes, to produce safe and effective allografts. MiMedx proprietary processing methodology employs aseptic processing techniques in addition to terminal sterilization. MiMedx is the leading supplier of placental tissue, having supplied over 1 million allografts to date for application in the Wound Care, Burn, Surgical, Orthopedic, Spine, Sports Medicine, Ophthalmic and Dental sectors of healthcare. For additional information, please visit www.mimedx.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release includes forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the effect of this settlement in relation to future infringement of the Company's intellectual property and prosecution of that infringement. These statements also may be identified by words such as "believe," "except," "may," "plan," "potential," "will" and similar expressions, and are based on our current beliefs and expectations. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and we caution investors against placing undue reliance on such statements. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Among the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements include the risk that infringement of the Company's patents may still occur in the future; this settlement may not have the anticipated effect on future infringement prosecutions; and the normal risks of litigation. For more detailed information on the risks and uncertainties, please review the Risk Factors section of our most recent annual report or quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
SOURCE MiMedx Group, Inc.
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