Jury rules in favor of KCI in Smith & Nephew patent dispute 

A San Antonio jury has found that a negative pressure wound-therapy product marketed and sold by Smith & Nephew infringes on two patents owned by Wake Forest University Health Sciences and licensed to Kinetic Concepts Inc.

The jury held that each of the patents in the case are valid and KCI and Wake Forest are entitled to damages. KCI will be seeking an injunction in post-trial proceedings in the U.S. District Court in San Antonio against Smith & Nephew.

“The outcome of this trial exemplifies the protections provided to innovators like Wake Forest and KCI under the U.S. patent system,” says KCI’s President and CEO Catherine M. Burzik. “And for the nearly 7,000 people of KCI, this decision reinforces the purpose and promise of the innovative spirit.”

San Antonio-based Kinetic Concepts (NYSE: KCI) and Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE: SNN) in London have been embroiled in a series of patent disputes worldwide over whether Smith & Nephew’s wound-dressing product violates KCI’s the patents on its V.A.C. Therapy product. Both companies manufacture medical products.

“We remain firm in our belief that we do not infringe on any valid U.S. patents,” says Robin Carlstein, senior vice president of Smith & Nephew Advanced Wound Devices. “While we are disappointed with the jury’s findings, Smith & Nephew has had better results in other jurisdictions, including invalidating KCI’s related patents in the United Kingdom and Germany.”