A Medical Device Daily
Kevin Conroy, president CEO of Third Wave Technologies (Madison, Wisconsin), in a company statement, has issued a response regarding the interrogatory response recently provided to Third Wave and filed by Digene (Gaithersburg, Maryland) with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.
In Third Wave’s response, Conroy said that Digene wrote that it “ ... believes that it will not be able to sustain its claim of infringement against Third Wave’s [HPV] analyte specific reagent[s] ... ” He said that this conclusion was made “in light of the court’s Markman order favorable to Third Wave, the court’s denial of Digene’s request to reconsider that order, and Digene’s analysis of material provided to it by Third Wave as part of discovery for the upcoming trial.”
Digene, he said, “disagrees with the court’s Markman order and reconsideration denial and reserves the right to appeal them and any unfavorable ruling made as a result of them.”
The most recent Digene court filing is posted at www.twt.com.
“Third Wave’s confidence in our freedom to operate in the HPV market has never wavered,” Conroy said. ”Our confidence is founded on our painstaking understanding of the HPV patent landscape and on the unique way in which our Invader® chemistry works. While this matter is not closed, it is telling that after two unfavorable court rulings and a more detailed examination of Third Wave’s chemistry and product, Qiagen, Digene’s new parent, arrived at the same conclusion we did: Third Wave’s product does not infringe.
“In that trial, we are asking the court to halt Digene’s longstanding, unlawful and anti-competitive business practices, and to compensate Third Wave for its damages.”
Earlier this month, Third Wave reported that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin had issued an order denying a motion by Digene for reconsideration of the court’s July Markman opinion (Medical Device Daily, Oct. 1, 2007).
Third Wave develops molecular diagnostic reagents for DNA and RNA analysis applications, based on its Invader chemistry for clinical testing.
In other patent news: PuriCore (Malvern, Pennsylvania/Stafford, UK), the life sciences company focused on the control of infectious pathogens, reported that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted U.S. Patent No. 7,276,255, titled “Wound and Ulcer Treatment with Super-Oxidized Water” relating to wound therapy methods.
PuriCore’s invention is drawn to methods of treating any open wound with hypochlorous acid solutions at neutral or near-neutral pH including two important processes, reducing wound bioburden and promoting tissue repair. Related patents have been approved previously for PuriCore’s technology in the UK and Europe.
The company says that research data submitted with the patent shows that its method provides optimum wound-healing by decreasing the microorganisms within the wound and by promoting skin cell proliferation and re-growth.
“Our research indicates that hypochlorous acid solutions represent a new and effective class of treatment for hard-to-heal wounds,” said Greg Bosch, CEO of PuriCore. “The granting of this first U.S. patent specific for wound therapy complements our broad intellectual property portfolio focused on antimicrobial solutions and devices for producing these solutions.”