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Aerocrine Provides Update on Its Legal Action Against Apieron
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Solna, Sweden -- Aerocrine AB (STO: AEROB) today announced that its patent infringement cases in the U.S. and Europe against Apieron Inc., Menlo Park, USA will be stayed as a result of Apieron filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Following Apieron’s 2008 launch of its Insight™ exhaled NO device in the U.S., Aerocrine filed complaints against Apieron for infringing three U.S. patents. Apieron subsequently filed a counterclaim in that case, asserting that Aerocrine infringes two patents that Apieron purchased in 2004. Apieron also filed a complaint against Aerocrine in Germany in July 2009 for alleged infringement of the German counterpart to one of the U.S. patents. In a 2003 License and Settlement Agreement, however, Aerocrine settled a dispute about the same patents asserted by Apieron with the previous owners of these patents.
Apieron filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California on 30 March. As a result, Aerocrine’s organization may now fully focus on commercial and scientific development in the U.S.
Aerocrine has applied for and received numerous patents that protect its inventions for monitoring airway inflammation by measuring exhaled NO. “Patents constitute an important prerequisite for companies such as ours to make the long term and pioneering investments in product and market development required to bring innovations to the benefit of patients,” said Paul de Potocki, CEO of Aerocrine AB. “While we favor business resolutions to matters related to patent disputes, we will continue to forcefully defend our company’s intellectual property.”
About Aerocrine
Aerocrine AB is a medical technology company focused on the improved management and care of patients with inflammatory airway diseases. The pioneer and leader in the technology to monitor and manage airway inflammation, Aerocrine markets NIOX MINO® and NIOX® Flex. Both products enable the fast and reliable measurement of airway inflammation and may thus play a critical role in more effective diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of patients with inflammatory airway diseases such as asthma. Aerocrine is based in Sweden with subsidiaries in the US, Germany and the UK. Aerocrine shares were listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange on 15 June 2007.
Aerocrine may be required to disclose the information provided herein pursuant to the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication at 8:00 am on April the 7th 2010.
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