A Diagnostics & Imaging Week
Neothermia (Natick, Massachusetts) reported reaching an agreement with Rubicor Medical (Redwood City, California) for the dismissal of patent infringement and breach-of-contract litigation that Neothermia filed against Rubicor.
The companies have agreed to dismiss the claims against one another relating to the litigation. The agreement is limited to U.S. patent No. 6,514,248 B1 and its related patents, which remain valid, and has no affect on the remainder of Neothermia's patent portfolio, Neothermia said in a statement.
Thomas Tully, CEO of Neothermia, said, "This limited agreement allows us to focus our resources on marketing and sales efforts to further accelerate the growth of our business for the advanced en-bloc Breast Biopsy System. Growing clinical evidence continues to demonstrate that the en-bloc procedure can result in a significantly more accurate diagnosis than percutaneous core biopsy. Our extensive, powerful patent portfolio remains intact and enforceable."
Privately held Neothermia develops minimally invasive systems for the excision of tissue for diagnostic and therapeutic applications in select cancer markets. The company's lead product, the en-bloc biopsy system, received FDA approval in June 2001. Initial products are targeted at breast biopsy and tumor excision.
Rubicor makes the EnCapsule Xtra and the EnCapsule Precise devices used in