Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Files Patent Infringement Complaint Against Maquet...

Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Files Patent Infringement Complaint Against
Maquet Cardiovascular LLC

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Terumo Cardiovascular Systems
(Terumo CVS) announced that it filed a patent infringement complaint on August
21 in the Northern District of California against Maquet Cardiovascular LLC.
The complaint alleges that Maquet's Vasoview(R) Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting
Systems infringe a patent for which Terumo CVS owns the rights. The complaint
also requests an injunction against further sales of the product in the U.S.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061027/DEF004LOGO )
Terumo CVS sells the VirtuoSaph(TM) Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting System in
the United States. The VirtuoSaph system is distributed in Japan and Asia by
Terumo Corporation and in Europe by Terumo's European subsidiary.
"Terumo respects the valid intellectual property of others and expects
that its competitors will do the same," said Mark Sutter, President and CEO,
Terumo Cardiovascular Systems.
The VirtuoSaph system is used during coronary artery bypass grafting
(CABG), the most common cardiac surgery procedure. During the procedure, the
surgeon removes a healthy artery or vein from elsewhere in the body, most
often the saphenous vein in the leg, and uses it to route blood around a
blockage in a coronary artery. The VirtuoSaph system allows the surgical team
to remove the saphenous vein using very small incisions. Endoscopic
procedures have been shown to minimize scarring, morbidity and infection
associated with traditional longitudinal incisions.
Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Corporation is a global manufacturer and
marketer of medical devices for cardiac and vascular surgery. The company is
headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan with manufacturing operations in Ann
Arbor; Elkton, Maryland; Ashland, Massachusetts; and Tustin, California. It
is one of several subsidiaries of Terumo Corporation of Japan focused
exclusively on the cardiac and vascular markets, including Terumo Heart Inc.,
developer of a ventricular assist device, and Vascutek Ltd, leading
manufacturer of vascular grafts. For more information, visit
www.terumo-cvs.com .
Terumo Corporation is a premier global medical device company with annual
sales of nearly three billion dollars for the year ending March 31, 2008.
Founded in 1921, the company develops, manufactures and distributes
world-class medical devices for use in cardiothoracic surgery, interventional
procedures, transfusion medicine, and needle and syringe products.
SOURCE Terumo Cardiovascular Systems

Barbara Schmid, Director, Corporate Communications of Terumo Cardiovascular
Systems, +1-734-741-6362, +1-734-657-6860 (cell)