Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (KCI), a wound care management company, said the Patents Court of England and Wales in its decree on KCI's patent infringement case against Smith & Nephew Plc. (Smith & Nephew), a UK-based medical devices company, indicated that important claims in the KCI patent covering the use of foam dressing kits with NPWT systems are valid. Kinetic said the court ruled that Smith & Nephew's foam-based NPWT dressing kits infringe the patent claims.
The KCI stated that the patent at issue in the case is exclusively licensed to KCI from Wake Forest University Health Sciences. In its written judgment, the court extended the existing injunction preventing Smith & Nephew from promoting or selling those dressing kits in the UK. KCI indicated that Court is currently considering the precise form of the injunction order and other remedies which gives effect to the judgment.
The company underlined that court also granted the parties permission to appeal the judgment.
“We are pleased that the British Court has affirmed the validity of these key claims of the Wake Forest patent,” said Catherine M. Burzik, KCI’s president and chief executive officer. “Millions of patients have benefited from KCI’s V.A.C. therapy technology, which is protected by the patent enforced by the UK Court today. We will continue to invest in new technology and the enforcement of our intellectual property rights, and we look forward to bringing new and innovative solutions to patients and caregivers in the future.”