LANGHORNE, Pa., Jan. 11, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Power Medical Interventions(r), Inc. (Nasdaq:PMII), a leader in developing and commercializing Intelligent Surgical Instruments(tm), announced today that the Court of Appeal of Dusseldorf, Germany has awarded the Company a provisional stay of enforcement in its ongoing patent infringement litigation with Ethicon Endo-Surgery, a Johnson & Johnson company. This stay of enforcement grants PMI the right to recommence sales in Germany of the SurgASSIST circular stapler product in question. PMI had circular stapler revenues of approximately $700,000 in Germany for the twelve months preceding the stoppage of sales in May 2006.
Ethicon Endo-Surgery initiated a three patent infringement lawsuit against PMI and the company's subsidiary, PMI Deutschland, in district court in Dusseldorf, Germany in March 2005. The lawsuits allege that certain PMI products infringe the German counterparts of three European patents owned by Ethicon Endo-Surgery. To date, PMI's products were found not to infringe two of these patents and, even though the company expects a favorable ruling on the third patent, judgment is not expected to be rendered in the near future.
Michael Whitman, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased with the court's decision to allow us to resume sales of our SurgASSIST circular stapler product to our German customers. Our ability to prevail in two of the three lawsuits in district court in Dusseldorf further validates the integrity of PMI's intellectual property and our belief that our products do not infringe on the intellectual property rights of our competitors."
About Power Medical Interventions, Inc.:
Power Medical Interventions(r), Inc. is an integrated medical device company and the world's only provider of computer-assisted, power-actuated surgical stapling products. PMI's Intelligent Surgical Instruments(tm) enable less invasive surgical techniques to benefit surgeons, patients, hospitals and healthcare networks. PMI manufactures durable recyclable technology to reduce medical waste and help keep the planet clean. The company was founded in 1999, and is headquartered in Langhorne, PA with additional offices in Germany, France, and Japan. To learn more about Power Medical Interventions, Inc. and its products, please visit www.pmi2.com.
Statements included in this press release, which are not historical in nature, are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements relating to the future financial performance of the Company are subject to many factors including, but not limited to, the customer acceptance of the products in the market, the introduction of competitive products and product development, commercialization and technological difficulties, and other risks detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. When used in this press release the terms "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "may," "objective," "plan," "possible," "potential," "project," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise.