MADISON, Wis., March 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Third Wave Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:TWTI) today announced that the company has filed its response to the recent patent lawsuit brought against it by Digene Corp. The company’s answer to the suit was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin in Madison, where it is being heard.
Third Wave’s response includes counterclaims against Digene alleging that it has abused its monopoly power to thwart competition in the human papilloma virus, or HPV, diagnostic marketplace.
“Digene filed its patent infringement suit knowing that Third Wave’s Invader(R) chemistry is superior to Digene’s and does not infringe its patent, as our response asserts,” said Kevin T. Conroy, president and chief executive of Third Wave. “While Third Wave prefers competing in the marketplace, we have made a careful decision to file this counterclaim to end the anti-competitive conduct of Digene detailed in our response. We expect to prevail at trial.”
Third Wave has retained the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis to represent it in this lawsuit. The firm, which has years of experience in intellectual property and anti-trust litigation, has successfully represented Third Wave in the past. A scheduling conference will be held on March 15, when an early 2008 trial date is expected to be set.
About Third Wave Technologies
Third Wave develops and markets molecular diagnostic reagents for a variety of DNA and RNA analysis applications to meet the needs of our customers. The company offers a number of products based on its Invader(R) chemistry for clinical testing. Third Wave offers in vitro diagnostic kits, and analyte specific, general purpose, and research use only reagents for nucleic acid analysis. For more information about Third Wave and its products, please visit the company’s website at www.twt.com.
All statements in this news release that are not historical are forward- looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Ex change Act of 1934 as amended. Such forward-looking statements are subject to factors that could cause actual results to differ materially for Third Wave from those projected. Those factors include risks and uncertainties relating to technological approaches of Third Wave and its competitors, product development, manufacturing, market acceptance, cost and pricing of Third Wave products, dependence on collaborative partners and commercial customers, successful performance under collaborative and commercial agreements, competition, the strength of the Third Wave intellectual property, the intellectual property of others and other risk factors identified in the documents Third Wave has filed, or will file, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of the Third Wave filings with the SEC may be obtained from the SEC Internet site at http://www.sec.gov/. Third Wave expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward- looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Third Wave’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statements are based. Third Wave Technologies, Invader and the Third Wave logo are trademarks of Third Wave Technologies, Inc.
