FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12/6/04
Federal Court in Delaware reverses jury's judgment and rules in favor
of ViaCell and against PharmaStem
BOSTON, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- ViaCell, Inc. announced today that a Federal Court in Delaware reversed the jury's judgment completely and ruled in favor of ViaCell and against PharmaStem on all of PharmaStem's claims in the patent infringement case brought by PharmaStem in Delaware and relating to ViaCell's ViaCord umbilical cord blood preservation product. In particular, the Court's Order of this week reversed a prior jury verdict with respect to the only patent remaining in the case, U.S. Patent No. 5,004,681, and ruled in favor of ViaCell on PharmaStem's claim of infringement. In September 2004, the Court reversed the jury's verdict and ruled in favor of ViaCell and against PharmaStem on PharmaStem's claim of infringement of the only other patent in that case, U.S. Patent No. 5,192,553. Further, as a result of the Court's action, PharmaStem's recent motion for a preliminary injunction against ViaCell was dismissed.
"We are delighted with the court's decision and have contended from the beginning that the original verdict was contrary to the evidence presented at the trial," said Marc Beer, CEO of ViaCell. "This decision, combined with the Court's earlier decision, signify a complete victory for ViaCell in the trial on PharmaStem's claims of infringement of the '681 and '553 patents."
Beer further stated, "When selecting a cord blood banking company, families should make that choice based on the commitment to science and quality and the experience of the company."
ViaCell's Viacord umbilical cord blood preservation product is used primarily for pediatric bone marrow transplants. The Company is also developing a pipeline of proprietary product candidates intended to address cancer, infertility, and cardiac diseases. ViaCell's proprietary technologies include Selective Amplification technology, which the Company believes will enable the development of stem cell products based on the isolation, purification and significant expansion of targeted stem cell populations. ViaCell is using these assets to develop a cord blood-derived stem cell therapeutic, CB001, the Company's lead stem cell therapy product candidate, which is currently in a Phase I clinical trial.
CONTACT: Marc D. Beer, CEO of ViaCell, Inc., +1-617-914-3556, or Media, Justin Jackson of Burns McClellan, +1-212-213-0006, ext. 327, for ViaCell
SOURCE ViaCell, Inc.
-0- 12/16/2004
/CONTACT: Marc D. Beer, CEO of ViaCell, Inc., +1-617-914-3556, or Media, Justin Jackson of Burns McClellan, +1-212-213-0006, ext. 327, for ViaCell /
/First Call Analyst: /
/FCMN Contact: /
/Web site: http://www.viacord.com /
CO: ViaCell, Inc.; PharmaStem
ST: Massachusetts
IN: HEA MTC BIO
SU: LAW