Courtesy of Benzinga.
Conceptus, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPTS) today announced that it has reached an agreement with Hologic, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOLX) to settle the ongoing patent infringement litigation related to Hologic’s Adiana Permanent Contraception System. The settlement agreement resolves all outstanding litigation between Conceptus and Hologic.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Hologic has agreed to remove its Adiana system from the worldwide permanent birth control market by May 18, 2012. In addition, Conceptus has relieved Hologic of the $18.8 million payment for monetary damages awarded to Conceptus as part of the October 17, 2011 jury verdict. Both companies have agreed to withdraw their respective appeals. In February, Conceptus had filed an appeal to overturn the court’s ruling denying its motion for permanent injunction against the sale of Hologic’s Adiana system, and Hologic had filed an appeal of the jury’s finding of patent validity and infringement. Hologic has also agreed to withdraw its False Patent Marking claims filed in 2009 in the United States District Court for Massachusetts. Furthermore, both parties will file with the United States District Court for Northern California appropriate motions seeking a consent judgment to the voluntary injunction of Hologic’s sale of the Adiana product within the next 30 days. Lastly, Conceptus will receive non-exclusive licensing rights to the technology related to Hologic’s Adiana system, limited to use in the field of permanent birth control. While Conceptus has been granted these rights, it does not intend to market the Adiana system.
“We are pleased to reach this settlement agreement with Hologic, which we believe is in the best interests of Conceptus, its employees and shareholders, as well as the market and its physicians and patients,” said D. Keith Grossman, president and chief executive officer of Conceptus. “Essure is the leading hysteroscopic permanent birth control procedure, allowing women to achieve highly reliable permanent birth control without the risks and recovery time associated with surgical tubal ligation. We believe that the settlement with Hologic will allow us to expand our distribution and increase the overall availability and usage of Essure. This is an important and significant achievement for our company as we advance our vision of making Essure the standard of care in permanent birth control for women and position Conceptus for long-term growth.”
Update on Financial Guidance
As a result of this agreement, Conceptus now expects 2012 net sales to be in the range of $140 million to $144 million, or an increase of $5 million compared to previously announced expectations of 2012 net sales of $135 million to $139 million. The Company expects 2012 adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $26 million to $28 million, or an increase of $3 million compared to previously announced expectations of 2012 adjusted EBITDA of $23 million to $25 million.
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