Stratagene Settles Litigation and Strengthens Patent Portfolio; Recent Settlement Expands Patent Portfolio for Polymerases and
May 16 2006 - 6:00AM
Business Wire
Stratagene Corporation (Nasdaq:STGN), a developer, manufacturer and
marketer of specialized life science research and diagnostic
products, has recently settled litigation and significantly
strengthened its patent portfolio pertaining to proprietary enzyme
blends. "We are very pleased with the outcome of our settlement
agreement with Takara Bio Inc. as it significantly strengthens our
patent position in PCR technology," said Joseph A. Sorge, M.D.,
President and CEO of Stratagene. "We believe that there are a
number of competitors selling products that are covered under our
patent portfolio. It is our intention to make limited licenses
available and recognize resulting licensing revenue. We believe
that the opportunities created by this settlement illustrate the
inherent value of our intellectual property and our investment in
protecting our proprietary technology." On May 11, 2006, Stratagene
announced that it had entered into a definitive settlement
agreement with Takara Bio Inc. to resolve the companies' patent
disputes in the field of enzyme blends that are widely used in
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology. PCR technology allows
users to amplify a small amount of DNA, making analysis much easier
and is commonly used in both research and molecular diagnostics,
including the detection of diseases such as cancer, heart disease,
AIDS, viral hepatitis, and other infectious diseases, as well as
paternity and forensic testing. As a result of the settlement, all
pending patent litigation in the U.S. District Court for the
District of Maryland and actual and potential patent interference
proceedings in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office have been
resolved. Potential disputes in the future will be avoided through
cross-licenses of the parties' respective patent rights relating to
enzyme blends. Stratagene will now own a broad U.S. patent
portfolio covering its proprietary enzyme blends. Stratagene will
seek to establish a licensing program for competitors' products
covered by its broad portfolio. About Stratagene Corporation
Stratagene is a developer, marketer and manufacturer of specialized
life science research and diagnostic products. The Company's life
science research unit supports advances in science by inventing,
manufacturing and distributing products that simplify, accelerate
and improve research. These products are used throughout the
academic, industrial and government research sectors in fields
spanning molecular biology, genomics, proteomics, drug discovery
and toxicology. The Company's diagnostic unit develops and
manufactures products for urinalysis, and high quality automated
instrument and reagent systems that use blood samples to test for
more than 1,000 different allergies and autoimmune disorders. In
addition, by combining its expertise in diagnostics and molecular
biology, as well as its experience with FDA regulatory procedures,
the Company is pursuing opportunities to expand its product
portfolio to include molecular diagnostic kits and instrumentation.
More information is available at www.stratagene.com. Safe Harbor
Statement Certain statements in this news release that are not
historical fact constitute "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Stockholders and other readers are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements. Stratagene generally
identifies forward-looking statements by using words like
"believe," "intend," "target," "expect," "estimate," "may,"
"should," "plan," "project," "contemplate," "anticipate," "predict"
or similar expressions. You can also identify forward-looking
statements by discussions of strategies, plans or intentions. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results
of Stratagene to be materially different from historical results or
from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Among the important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained in or implied by
the forward-looking statements are risks associated with the
company's inability to sufficiently anticipate market needs and
develop products and product enhancements that achieve market
acceptance, the company's ability to compete effectively in the
diagnostics and life science research markets, variability of the
company's quarterly revenues and operating results, the failure of
the company to retain key employees, the company's ability to
obtain additional debt or equity financing, the possibility of
declining sales due in part to a reduction in research and
development budgets or government funding, the company's ongoing
ability to protect its own intellectual property rights and to
avoid violating the intellectual property rights of third parties,
extended manufacturing difficulties and currency fluctuations. For
more information about these and other factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those contained in or
implied by the forward-looking statements please see Item "1A. Risk
Factors" included in Stratagene's Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2005 and in other reports filed by
Stratagene from time to time with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
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