Healthcare Industry News: CoolSculpting
News Release - January 30, 2013
Mercantile Court in Spain Rules in ZELTIQ(R) Aesthetics Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Clinipro
PLEASANTON, Calif.--(Healthcare Sales & Marketing Network)--ZELTIQ® Aesthetics, Inc. (ZLTQ), a medical technology company focused on developing and commercializing products utilizing its proprietary controlled-cooling technology platform, today announced that the Mercantile Court in Spain rendered its ruling on the merits of ZELTIQ’s and Massachusetts General Hospital’s (MGH) request for a permanent injunction against Clinipro’s LipoCryo device based on Clinipro’s infringement of two European patents owned by MGH and globally licensed exclusively to ZELTIQ and denied the request.ZELTIQ is a global medical device company that has developed an innovative, noninvasive, clinically proven procedure that selectively reduces fat through controlled cooling. Its CoolSculpting® technology is protected by numerous patents and trademarks around the world.
ZELTIQ and MGH filed suit against Clinipro in March 2012 alleging infringement by Clinipro of two European patents licensed by ZELTIQ from MGH and requested an injunction against further sales of Clinipro’s LipoCryo device. After hearing a petition in April 2012, the Mercantile Court granted ZELTIQ’s and MGH’s request for a preliminary injunction against further importation, distribution, and sales of Clinipro's LipoCryo device in Spain. The Mercantile Court subsequently scheduled a trial which was completed October 2012. ZELTIQ is being represented by Salvador Ferrandis & Partners. The Mercantile Court’s ruling is fully appealable and affects only Clinipro’s activities in Spain.
ZELTIQ has also filed a separate patent infringement lawsuit against Clinipro in France. Veron & Associes is representing ZELTIQ and MGH in this matter and the trial is expected to begin in April.
“We are disappointed in the Mercantile Court’s decision as our legal team and outside counsel were anticipating that the Court would follow its previous decision of granting our request for a preliminary injunction,” commented Mark Foley, President and Chief Executive Officer of ZELTIQ. “ZELTIQ and MGH intend to appeal this ruling immediately and, along with our outside counsel, we are confident that we will ultimately prevail. We remain steadfast in our commitment to vigorously enforce our intellectual property rights and will continue to partner with MGH to aggressively assert our rights.”
Mr. Foley continued, “More importantly, our proprietary CoolSculpting® system is uniquely engineered to monitor, deliver and maintain a precise cooling temperature – features which are not found in copycat systems such as those manufactured by Clinipro. In the absence of temperature monitoring, patients are either subjected to temperatures that are too cold, which introduces safety risks such as freeze burn, or temperatures that simply are not sufficiently cold and, as a result, the procedure does not work. Copycat systems are looking to profit on our pioneering and innovative technology in the cryolipolysis field, with products that do not provide patients the safety and performance results that they have come to expect. CoolSculpting® continues to be the market leader and is the only cold-based, non-surgical fat reduction and body contouring treatment that is FDA-cleared. With nearly 500,000 procedures to date worldwide, we have unrivaled clinical experience in this area and intend to protect our technology, physician practices, and patients from inferior products.”
About ZELTIQ® Aesthetics, Inc.
ZELTIQis a medical technology company focused on developing and commercializing products utilizing its proprietary controlled-cooling technology platform. ZELTIQ’s first commercial product, the CoolSculpting® System, is designed to selectively reduce stubborn fat bulges that may not respond to diet or exercise. CoolSculpting® is based on the scientific principle that fat cells are more sensitive to cold than the overlying skin and surrounding tissues. CoolSculpting® utilizes patented technology of precisely controlled cooling to reduce the temperature of fat cells in the treated area, which is intended to cause fat cell elimination through a natural biological process known as apoptosis, without causing scar tissue or damage to the skin, nerves, or surrounding tissues. ZELTIQ developed CoolSculpting® to safely, noticeably, and measurably reduce the fat layer within a treated fat bulge without requiring the patient to diet or exercise.
Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this press release regarding the future actions and expectations regarding litigation designed to protect ZELTIQ’s intellectual property rights are forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond ZELTIQ’s control. Factors that could cause these statements not to come true include, but are not limited to: risks inherent in litigation, including that the court or deciding body may disagree with ZELTIQ’s interpretation of the law or the facts; court actions may be delayed for reasons beyond ZELTIQ’s control; additional information may come to ZELTIQ’s attention that could cause ZELTIQ to change its litigation plans or strategies; as well as those other risks and uncertainties set forth in ZELTIQ’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2012, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 8, 2012. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. ZELTIQ expressly disclaims any obligation to update information contained in these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Source: ZELTIQ Aesthetics
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