Preliminary Injunction Denied in Digene's Case Against Ventana Medical Systems

GAITHERSBURG, Md., May 10  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Digene Corporation (NASDAQ:DIGE) announced today that on May 9, 2007, the United States District Court for the State of Delaware issued a ruling on its motion for a preliminary injunction in its ongoing patent infringement action against Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. and Beckman Coulter, Inc.  In that ruling, the court denied Digene's motion for a preliminary injunction against Ventana.

Daryl Faulkner, president and chief executive officer of Digene, stated: "Although we are disappointed with the court's ruling, the denial of our preliminary injunction request was not unexpected given the pending expiration of the patents at issue in May and June." In the ruling, the court noted that there remains a substantial question as to whether Ventana has a license to the relevant HPV patents.

The litigation is continuing; no trial date has been set.  Refer to the corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for more information about its claim against Ventana and Beckman Coulter. Digene will continue to vigorously pursue this litigation.

About Digene

A leader in molecular diagnostics, Digene develops, manufactures and markets proprietary DNA and RNA tests, with a focus on women's health. The company's flagship product, the Digene(R) HPV Test, is the only FDA-approved and CE-marked test for the detection of human papillomavirus, the cause of essentially all cervical cancers. Digene's product portfolio also includes tests for the detection of other sexually transmitted infections, including chlamydia and gonorrhea. Digene tests are marketed in more than 40 countries worldwide. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD, Digene is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol DIGE. For more information, visit http://www.digene.com/ and http://www.thehpvtest.com/.

Digene(R), Hybrid Capture(R), hc2 High-Risk HPV DNA Test(R) and DNAwithPap(R) are registered trademarks of Digene Corporation.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of the future as there are a number of meaningful factors that could cause the Company's actual results to vary materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Meaningful factors, which could cause actual results to differ from expectations include, but are not limited to, risk that other companies may develop and market HPV tests competitive with our own; our ability to scale up our manufacturing to the extent demand for our products increases; ability to develop new products; ability to execute and integrate strategic transactions; uncertainty related to changes in our senior management; and uncertainty of market acceptance of our products by the worldwide medical community, as well as other factors discussed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.  For other factors, reference is made to the Company's annual and quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

DATASOURCE: Digene Corporation



CONTACT:  Albert Fleury, Investor Relations, [phone], or Pam

Rasmussen, [phone], both of Digene Corporation



Web site:  http://www.digene.com/

http://www.thehpvtest.com/ 

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