Stratagene Settles Litigation and Strengthens Patent Portfolio; Recent Settlement Expands Patent Portfolio for Polymerases and E
Stratagene Corporation (Nasdaq:STGN), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of specialized life science research and diagnostic products, has recently settled litigation and significantly strengthened its patent portfolio pertaining to proprietary enzyme blends.
"We are very pleased with the outcome of our settlement agreement with Takara Bio Inc. as it significantly strengthens our patent position in PCR technology," said Joseph A. Sorge, M.D., President and CEO of Stratagene. "We believe that there are a number of competitors selling products that are covered under our patent portfolio. It is our intention to make limited licenses available and recognize resulting licensing revenue. We believe that the opportunities created by this settlement illustrate the inherent value of our intellectual property and our investment in protecting our proprietary technology."
On May 11, 2006, Stratagene announced that it had entered into a definitive settlement agreement with Takara Bio Inc. to resolve the companies' patent disputes in the field of enzyme blends that are widely used in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology. PCR technology allows users to amplify a small amount of DNA, making analysis much easier and is commonly used in both research and molecular diagnostics, including the detection of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, AIDS, viral hepatitis, and other infectious diseases, as well as paternity and forensic testing.
As a result of the settlement, all pending patent litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and actual and potential patent interference proceedings in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office have been resolved. Potential disputes in the future will be avoided through cross-licenses of the parties' respective patent rights relating to enzyme blends.
Stratagene will now own a broad U.S. patent portfolio covering its proprietary enzyme blends. Stratagene will seek to establish a licensing program for competitors' products covered by its broad portfolio.
About Stratagene Corporation
Stratagene is a developer, marketer and manufacturer 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.