Ethicon Endo-Surgery Announces Agreement with Hologic Inc. To Resolve Patent Disputes

CINCINNATI, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, announced today that it has reached an agreement with Hologic, Inc., and Hologic subsidiary Suros Surgical Systems, Inc., settling litigation in Ohio and dismissing pending cases in Delaware.  The disputes involved patents relating to the Ethicon Endo-Surgery MAMMOTOME® Breast Biopsy System, and the Hologic ATEC and EVIVA biopsy devices. Under the terms of the agreement, Ethicon Endo-Surgery will receive $12.5 million from Hologic.

As part of the settlement, Ethicon Endo-Surgery and Hologic will enter into a cross licensing agreement, whereby Hologic will pay ongoing royalties on the sales of ATEC and EVIVA hand pieces, and Ethicon Endo-Surgery will pay ongoing royalties on the sales of the MAMMOTOME® MR, effective February 19, 2010.

The cases resolved were in trial in Ohio before U.S. District Court Judge Barrett, and pending trial in Delaware before U.S. District Court Judge Farnan.

"We are pleased to resolve this longstanding litigation with Hologic," said Kevin Lobo, Worldwide President, Ethicon Endo-Surgery. "We firmly stand behind our intellectual property, which allows us to bring innovative products to market and advance patient care."

About Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.

Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. is a global leader in minimally invasive and traditional surgical devices for bariatric surgery and many other areas of surgery. The company develops and markets advanced medical devices for minimally invasive and open surgical procedures. The company focuses on procedure-enabling devices for the interventional diagnosis and treatment of conditions in general and bariatric surgery, as well as gastrointestinal health, plastic surgery, orthopedics, gynecology and surgical oncology. More information on the company can be found at www.ethiconendo.com.

(This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. and/or Johnson & Johnson's expectations and projections. Risks and uncertainties include general industry conditions and competition; economic conditions, such as interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; technological advances and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approvals; domestic and foreign health care reforms and governmental laws and regulations; and trends toward health care cost containment.  A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Exhibit 99 of the Johnson & Johnson Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2008. Copies of this Form 10-K, as well as subsequent filings, are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. Neither Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. nor Johnson & Johnson undertake to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments.)

SOURCE Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED