Stratagene (NASDAQ:STGN)
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Stratagene Corporation (NASDAQ:STGN), a developer, manufacturer and
marketer of specialized life science research and diagnostic products,
announced today that the federal judge overseeing Invitrogen
Corporation vs. Stratagene in the United States District Court for
the Western District of Texas has awarded Invitrogen $16.2 million in
damages plus pre-judgment interest and ruled that Stratagene must pay
Invitrogen’s attorney’s
fees, in an amount to be determined by the court. On July 25, 2006, the
jury determined that Invitrogen’s 4,981,797
patent is valid and that Stratagene infringed that patent by making and
selling its competent E. coli cell products. The jury decided to
award Invitrogen a 15% royalty rate on sales between the years 1997 and
2004 (for a total of $7.9 million in damages) and found Stratagene to
have willfully infringed the patent only between the years 1997 and 2001.
Stratagene believes that the jury’s verdict
and the damages awarded were not supported by the facts of the case or
the law and as a result, the Company intends to appeal the decision. In
appealing the jury’s verdict and the court’s
subsequent post trial rulings, Stratagene will be challenging the
finding of validity of the patent, the appropriateness of the damages
determined by the jury, the trebling of a portion of the amount by the
court and the award of attorney’s fees.
Stratagene had previously modified its process for manufacturing
competent E. coli cell products and, as a result, Invitrogen has
agreed that Stratagene products sold in recent years and currently
offered for sale will not be affected by the jury verdict. The jury
found that Invitrogen was not entitled to lost profits because
Stratagene has had a non-infringing manufacturing process for competent
cells.
The action by Invitrogen was initiated in March 2001. In November 2001,
the district court granted Stratagene’s motion
for summary judgment finding that Invitrogen’s
aforementioned patent was not infringed by Stratagene. Upon Invitrogen’s
appeal, the United States Federal Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the
lower court’s decision in part and remanded
the case back to the lower court. In January 2004, the district court
granted partial summary judgment to Invitrogen based on the
determination that Stratagene’s then-existing
manufacturing process infringed Invitrogen’s
patent, however the court also determined that Invitrogen’s
patent was invalid. Stratagene then changed its manufacturing process
for competent cell products to a non-infringing method. Invitrogen
appealed the decision again and in October 2005 the Federal Circuit
Court reversed the district court’s findings
in part. The case was remanded back to district court, resulting in the
jury’s determination handed down on July 25,
2006 followed by the court order issued on October 31, 2006.
The Company currently has approximately $16.6 million in unrestricted
cash and a $9.0 million revolving line of credit in place which has a
zero balance currently outstanding. The Company’s
operations remain cash flow positive. The total amount of long-term debt
is approximately $3.8 million and final payments on such long-term debt
are not due until 2022.
About Stratagene Corporation
Stratagene is a developer, manufacturer and marketer 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 sciences
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 "Factors that May Affect Future
Results" 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.
Stratagene Corporation (NASDAQ:STGN), a developer, manufacturer
and marketer of specialized life science research and diagnostic
products, announced today that the federal judge overseeing Invitrogen
Corporation vs. Stratagene in the United States District Court for the
Western District of Texas has awarded Invitrogen $16.2 million in
damages plus pre-judgment interest and ruled that Stratagene must pay
Invitrogen's attorney's fees, in an amount to be determined by the
court. On July 25, 2006, the jury determined that Invitrogen's
4,981,797 patent is valid and that Stratagene infringed that patent by
making and selling its competent E. coli cell products. The jury
decided to award Invitrogen a 15% royalty rate on sales between the
years 1997 and 2004 (for a total of $7.9 million in damages) and found
Stratagene to have willfully infringed the patent only between the
years 1997 and 2001.
Stratagene believes that the jury's verdict and the damages
awarded were not supported by the facts of the case or the law and as
a result, the Company intends to appeal the decision. In appealing the
jury's verdict and the court's subsequent post trial rulings,
Stratagene will be challenging the finding of validity of the patent,
the appropriateness of the damages determined by the jury, the
trebling of a portion of the amount by the court and the award of
attorney's fees.
Stratagene had previously modified its process for manufacturing
competent E. coli cell products and, as a result, Invitrogen has
agreed that Stratagene products sold in recent years and currently
offered for sale will not be affected by the jury verdict. The jury
found that Invitrogen was not entitled to lost profits because
Stratagene has had a non-infringing manufacturing process for
competent cells.
The action by Invitrogen was initiated in March 2001. In November
2001, the district court granted Stratagene's motion for summary
judgment finding that Invitrogen's aforementioned patent was not
infringed by Stratagene. Upon Invitrogen's appeal, the United States
Federal Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court's decision
in part and remanded the case back to the lower court. In January
2004, the district court granted partial summary judgment to
Invitrogen based on the determination that Stratagene's then-existing
manufacturing process infringed Invitrogen's patent, however the court
also determined that Invitrogen's patent was invalid. Stratagene then
changed its manufacturing process for competent cell products to a
non-infringing method. Invitrogen appealed the decision again and in
October 2005 the Federal Circuit Court reversed the district court's
findings in part. The case was remanded back to district court,
resulting in the jury's determination handed down on July 25, 2006
followed by the court order issued on October 31, 2006.
The Company currently has approximately $16.6 million in
unrestricted cash and a $9.0 million revolving line of credit in place
which has a zero balance currently outstanding. The Company's
operations remain cash flow positive. The total amount of long-term
debt is approximately $3.8 million and final payments on such
long-term debt are not due until 2022.
About Stratagene Corporation
Stratagene is a developer, manufacturer and marketer 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 sciences 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 "Factors that May Affect Future Results"
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.