Sontra Medical Serves Patent Infringement Notice for Dermisonics' Transdermal Insulin Delivery System
01 Februar 2006 - 3:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
FRANKLIN, Mass., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sontra Medical
Corporation (NASDAQ:SONT) announced today that it has sent a notice
to Dermisonics, Inc. (OTC:DMSI.OB) (BULLETIN BOARD: DMSI.OB)
stating Sontra's belief that, upon commercialization, Dermisonics'
U-Strip ultrasonic transdermal delivery system for insulin and
other drugs will infringe one or more of Sontra's patents. On
February 1, 2006, Sontra sent a letter to Dermisonics stating that
Sontra believes that the U-Strip system currently infringes, or
will infringe, the claims in Sontra's U.S. patent numbers
6,002,961, 6,190,315, and/or 6,491,657, noting that the penalties
for such infringement are severe, including a preliminary and
permanent injunction, treble damages and attorneys' fees. Such
letter follows several earlier letters and communications by Sontra
to Dermisonics over the past several months regarding this matter.
Sontra has offered to negotiate the terms of a mutually agreeable
license agreement with Dermisonics, but has to date received no
response. Thomas W. Davison, Sontra's President and Chief Executive
Officer, stated, "We are very concerned that Dermisonics is or very
soon will be infringing on our patents with its U-Strip system for
the transdermal delivery of insulin and other drugs. As both
companies share mutual interests in the areas of diabetes
management and drug delivery, we have offered to license our
technology to Dermisonics, but have not yet received from them any
indication of a willingness to establish fair license terms. Sontra
takes this matter very seriously and will take all necessary
actions to protect our intellectual property and Dermisonics is on
notice that the U-Strip system has serious patent infringement
concerns." About Sontra Medical Corporation
(http://www.sontra.com/) Sontra Medical Corporation is a technology
leader in transdermal science. Sontra's SonoPrep
ultrasound-mediated skin permeation technology combined with
technical competencies in transdermal drug formulation, delivery
systems and biosensors is creating a new paradigm in transdermal
drug delivery and diagnosis. The SonoPrep technology is being
developed for several billion dollar market opportunities,
including continuous glucose monitoring and the transdermal
delivery of large molecule drugs and vaccines. Sontra is currently
marketing the SonoPrep device and procedure tray for use with
topical lidocaine to achieve rapid (within five minutes) skin
anesthesia. Contact: Sean Moran, Sontra Medical CFO 508-530-0334
SonoPrep is a registered trademark of Sontra Medical Corporation.
All other company, product or service names mentioned herein are
the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which
address a variety of subjects including, for example, the expected
benefits and efficacy of the SonoPrep device in connection with
diagnostics, vaccine delivery, glucose monitoring and transdermal
drug delivery, Sontra's expected ability to develop, market and
sell products based on its technology, the expected size of the
markets for the SonoPrep device and technology, Sontra's ability to
license its technology to Dermisonics, and Sontra's business,
research, product development, regulatory approval, marketing and
distribution plans and strategies. Statements that are not
historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and
expectations, are forward-looking statements. Such statements are
based on our current expectations and are subject to a number of
factors and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to
differ materially from those described in the forward-looking
statements. The following important factors and uncertainties,
among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from
those described in these forward- looking statements: our
technology is new and we may experience adverse results in research
collaborations, product development, clinical trials, product
evaluations, commercialization efforts, product distribution and
market acceptance; markets for our products may develop slower than
expected, or not at all; our sales cycle is lengthy and we are
still developing sales and marketing strategies which may or may
not prove effective; the SonoPrep device may not prove effective in
connection with diagnostics, vaccine delivery, glucose monitoring
and/or transdermal drug delivery; we may experience difficulties or
delays in obtaining regulatory approvals to market products
resulting from development efforts or difficulties or delays
associated with sources of regulatory-approved transdermal drugs
and vaccines; failure to obtain and maintain patent protection for
discoveries or commercial limitations imposed by patents owned or
controlled by third parties would have an adverse effect on us; we
depend upon strategic partners and third-party distributors to
develop, commercialize, market and sell products based on our work;
and we require substantial additional funding to conduct research
and development and to expand commercialization, distribution and
marketing activities. For detailed information about factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to
Sontra's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including Sontra's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB.
Forward-looking statements represent management's current
expectations and are inherently uncertain. We do not undertake any
obligation to update forward- looking statements made by us. First
Call Analyst: FCMN Contact: DATASOURCE: Sontra Medical Corporation
CONTACT: Sean Moran, CFO of Sontra Medical, +1-508-530-0334 Web
site: http://www.sontra.com/
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