Occlutech Appeals First Instance Court Decision in German Litigation by AGA Medical Inc and Files for Invalidation Proceeding

Occlutech Appeals First Instance Court Decision in German Litigation by AGA Medical Inc and Files for Invalidation Proceeding

August 07, 2007

    JENA, Germany, Aug. 7 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Occlutech
GmbH, the leading European manufacturer of cardiac
occlusion devices, today announced that it has appealed the
first instance court decision that was announced on August
1st 2007 by the district court in Dusseldorf.  The
Occlutech appeal is motivated by the first instance court
decision seemingly not considering all relevant facts and
arguments brought forth by Occlutech.  The court decision
appears to be based on an unintended broad interpretation
of the AGA patent that is not compatible with scientific
facts, laws of physics and prior art.

    Occlutech is confident that when the next court
instance, the provincial high court and court of appeal in
Dusseldorf, investigates this matter, a more thorough
consideration of the hard facts from the areas of Material
Science and Intellectual Property Legislation will work in
favour of the company and the earlier decision will be
revoked.

    Occlutech expects this positive outcome in 18 months
from now and intends to continue to serve existing and new
customers both in Germany and Internationally with its
range of PFO and ASD occluders as well as several new
products currently being developed.

    Occlutech's CEO Robert Moszner says; "The
Occlutech occluders are new and innovative and are
protected by a strong Intellectual Property position.  In
addition to a high likelihood of the recent court decision
being revoked in the appeal process, we see a substantial
chance that the AGA patent will be invalidated as a result
of AGA's own actions and argumentation in court."

    Further he states; "AGA's press communication
contains a lot of hot air and we are confident that facts
and state-of-the-art science will prove us right."

    Occlutech has announced that it will initiate
invalidation proceedings against AGA's only awarded
European patent.  Most of the broader claims now
interpreted into the patents by AGA Medical were not
accepted by the reviewers of the European Patent Office in
the original patent approval process due to the existence
of prior art.  This creates a significant and justified
basis for Occlutech to file for invalidation.

    Occlusion devices are used to treat structural heart
disease, including structural heart defects and
abnormalities, such as Atrial Septal Defects (ASD), or
Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO), in a minimally invasive,
non-surgical way.  The market for these devices, and the
PFO occluders in particular, are expected to expand
significantly over the next few years.


    For further information, please contact:

     Robert Moszner
     Phone: [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Susanne Goransson
     Phone: [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]