The University of California, IDEXX Laboratories Inc. and Synbiotics Corp. announce agreement on settlement of FIV patent infringement suit

Business Wire, Dec 12, 1994 by Scaliforani

WESTBROOK, Maine and SAN DIEGO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 12, 1994--The University of California (UC), IDEXX Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) of Westbrook, Maine, and Synbiotics Corp. (NASDAQ:SBIO) of San Diego, Calif., Monday announced that they have reached agreement on the settlement of a lawsuit relating to infringement of UC's patent on feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) diagnostics, which is exclusively licensed to IDEXX.

In the settlement agreement, Synbiotics:

-- Acknowledged that its ViraCHEK/FIV product infringed U.S. Patent

No. 5,118,602, which relates to methods for the diagnosis of FIV;

-- Agreed that U.S. Patent No. 5,118,602, as well as U.S. Patent

No. 5,037,753, with respect to the discovery of FIV, are valid;

-- Agreed to a permanent injunction against infringement of UC's

FIV patents; and

-- Agreed to pay a total of $50,000 to UC and IDEXX.

Simultaneous with the agreement on the settlement of the suits involving UC, IDEXX and Synbiotics, UC announced agreement on the settlement of a suit brought by Marlo L. Brown in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in which Brown sought a determination that she was a co-inventor under UC's FIV patents. Under the terms of the settlement agreement in Brown v. UC, Brown acknowledged UC's exclusive ownership of its FIV patents. The discovery of the FIV virus was announced in 1987 by Drs. Niels C. Pedersen and Janet K. Yamamoto of UC.

Although the FIV virus poses no human health threat, it causes symptoms in cats which are similar to those observed in humans who have contracted the HIV virus.

CONTACT: IDEXX Laboratories Inc., Westbrook

              David E. Shaw, 207/856-0300
                             207/856-0347 (fax)
               or
              Synbiotics Corp., San Diego
              Robert L. Widerkehr, 619/451-3771
                                   619/451-5719 (fax)