MINNEAPOLIS, May 16, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vascular Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:VASC) announced today that it has filed a patent infringement complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota against Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX). The complaint alleges that Boston Scientific has infringed three patents owned by Vascular Solutions concerning rapid exchange guide extension technology by manufacturing and selling its Guidezilla™ guide extension catheter which received 510(k) clearance in March 2013. Vascular Solutions is seeking an injunction against Boston Scientific prohibiting the manufacture and sale of its Guidezilla catheter as well as damages for lost profits and legal costs.
U.S. Patents 8,048,032, 8,142,413 and 8,292,850, comprising 60 claims in total and having an initial filing date of May 2006, were issued by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office to Howard Root, et. al. and assigned to Vascular Solutions concerning rapid exchange guide extension technology. These patents form the basis for Vascular Solutions' GuideLiner® catheter, the first and until now only rapid exchange mother-and-child guide extension catheter. Since its launch in 2009, the GuideLiner catheter has been described by prominent interventional cardiologists as an "indispensable tool," a "game-changing device," and a catheter that "makes impossible cases possible."
"Boston Scientific's Guidezilla is one of the most blatant plagiarisms of a patented medical device that I have ever encountered," said Howard Root, Chief Executive Officer of Vascular Solutions. "Virtually every substantive aspect of our GuideLiner product and patents, from the design to the dimensions to even the exact words used in the product's deployment instructions, has been misappropriated by Boston Scientific and applied to their Guidezilla catheter. We do not take the initiation of patent litigation lightly, but this is exactly the type of conduct that patents were intended to protect – a small medical device company creating a completely new and innovative product only to be flagrantly violated by a knock-off brazenly marketed by the world's largest interventional cardiology company. We intend to move quickly to stop this violation of our rights."
About Vascular Solutions
Vascular Solutions, Inc. is an innovative medical device company that focuses on developing unique clinical solutions for coronary and peripheral vascular procedures. The company's product line consists of over 75 products in three categories: catheter products, hemostat products and vein products. Vascular Solutions delivers its products to interventional cardiologists, interventional radiologists, electrophysiologists, and vein specialists through its direct U.S. sales force and international independent distributor network.
The information in this press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the international availability of the Venture catheter and expectations about the product's sales, that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Important factors that may cause such differences include those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and other recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks associated with the need for adoption of our new products, lack of sustained profitability, exposure to intellectual property claims, significant variability in quarterly results, exposure to possible product liability claims, the development of new products by others, doing business in international markets, the availability of third party reimbursement, and actions by the FDA.
For further information, connect to www.vasc.com.