Butamax admits Gevo does not
infringe and trial not needed
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - March 21, 2013
- Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO), announced today that a judgment of
non-infringement will be entered for Gevo following the
acknowledgment by Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC (Butamax) that Gevo
does not infringe Butamax's asserted patents under the Court's
construction of a key claim term in Butamax's Patent Nos. 7,851,188
and 7,993,889. As a result of this victory, a judgment of
non-infringement will be entered in Gevo's favor and the trial
scheduled for April 1st will no
longer take place.
"This is an outstanding victory
for Gevo," noted Brett Lund, EVP and General Counsel for
Gevo. "We have consistently maintained that we do not
infringe any Butamax patents and Butamax's concession resoundingly
validates our position."
The judgment of non-infringement
comes on the heels of the Court's important claim construction
determination which held that Butamax's Patent Nos. 7,851,188 and
7,993,889 require the use of an "NADPH-dependent" KARI.
Butamax conceded that it could not establish that Gevo's KARI is
NADPH-dependent.
"Gevo continues to demonstrate
that it does not infringe Butamax's patents because Gevo created an
NADH-dependent KARI enzyme that enables Gevo's yeast strains to
produce isobutanol at much greater efficiencies than strains using
the NADPH-dependent enzymes claimed by Butamax," said Lund.
"We fully expect Butamax will appeal to the Federal
Circuit, but we are confident in the merits of our case."
In addition to granting a judgment
of non-infringement, the Court invalidated Butamax's patent claims
for the deletion of PDC. PDC is the enzyme responsible for
making ethanol and its deletion is required for the commercially
viable production of isobutanol. Gevo's patents covering the
deletion of PDC and the use of AFT are set for trial in August of
this year, where Gevo is suing Butamax for patent infringement.
Gevo will host a conference call on Thursday, Mar.
21, 2013 at 11:30 a.m. EDT (9:30 a.m. MDT) to discuss this
significant win.
To participate in the conference call, please dial
1-866-825-1709 (inside the US) or 1- 617-213-8060 (outside the US)
and reference the access code 89618382. The presentation will be
available via a live webcast at:
http://www.media-server.com/m/acs/5d3c8682f834060fbfe1eed178c48342
A replay of the call will be
available two hours after the conference call ends on Oct. 30, 2012
until Midnight EST on Nov. 30, 2012. To access the replay, please
dial 1-888-286-8010 (inside the US) or 1-617-801-6888 (outside the
US) and reference the access code 81289891. The archived webcast
will be available for 30 days in the Investor Relations section of
Gevo's website at www.gevo.com.
About Gevo
Gevo is a leading renewable chemicals and
next-generation biofuels company. Gevo's patent-protected,
capital-light business model converts existing ethanol plants into
biorefineries to make isobutanol. This versatile chemical can be
directly integrated into existing chemical and fuel products to
deliver environmental and economic benefits. Gevo started up its
first commercial isobutanol facility in Luverne, Minn., and has a
marquee list of partners including Coca-Cola, Sasol, and LANXESS,
among others. Gevo is committed to a sustainable bio-based economy
that meets society's needs for plentiful food and clean air and
water. For more information, visit www.gevo.com.
Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain statements in this press
release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements include statements that are not
purely statements of historical fact, and can sometimes be
identified by our use of terms such as "intend," "expect," "plan,"
"estimate," "future," "strive" and similar words. These
forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current
beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Gevo and
are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking
statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of
the date they are made, and the company undertakes no obligation to
update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. Although the company
believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking
statements are reasonable, these statements involve many risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially
from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking
statements. For a further discussion of risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in
these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the
business of Gevo in general, see the risk disclosures in the Annual
Report on Form 10-K of Gevo for the year ended December 31, 2011,
as amended, and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and
other filings made with the SEC by Gevo.
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