United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) Rules in Smith & Nephew's Favor and...

United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) Rules in Smith & Nephew's
Favor and Confirms Patent Claims Infringed by Arthrex Inc.

ANDOVER, Mass., March 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The United States Patent &
Trademark Office (USPTO) overruled Arthrex's validity challenges to the claims
of a medical device patent exclusively licensed to Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN;
LSE: SN) by Dr. John O. Hayhurst of Portland, Ore.

As part of its attempt to overcome the jury's verdict against it, Arthrex
initiated a standard re-examination proceeding with the USPTO to try to
declare the patent invalid. The USPTO ruling confirms the validity of the
claims of the patent that are infringed by Arthrex.

A jury determined last June that Arthrex Inc. (Naples, Fla.) willfully
infringed this patent and awarded Smith & Nephew Endoscopy $14.7 million for
infringement through the end of 2005. That amount was later increased by the
Court for prejudgment interest and additional damages.

Contact: Joe Metzger
Sr. Vice President, Corporate Communications
Smith & Nephew Endoscopy
(978) 749-1330
joe.metzger@smith-nephew.com

About Us
Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business, specialising in
Orthopaedics, including Reconstruction, Trauma and Clinical Therapies;
Endoscopy and Advanced Wound Management. Smith & Nephew is a global leader in
arthroscopy and advanced wound management and is one of the leading global
orthopaedics companies.

Smith & Nephew is dedicated to helping improve people's lives. The Company
prides itself on the strength of its relationships with its surgeons and
professional healthcare customers, with whom its name is synonymous with high
standards of performance, innovation and trust. The Company operates in 32
countries around the world. Annual sales in 2008 were $3.8 billion.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In
particular, statements regarding planned growth in our business and in our
operating margins discussed under "Outlook" are forward-looking statements as
are discussions of our product pipeline. These statements, as well as the
phrases "aim", "plan", "intend", "anticipate", "well-placed", "believe",
"estimate", "expect", "target", "consider" and similar expressions, are
generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other important factors (including, but not limited to, the outcome of
litigation and regulatory approvals) that could cause the actual results,
performance or achievements of Smith & Nephew, or industry results, to differ
materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. Please refer to the documents that
Smith & Nephew has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Smith &
Nephew's most recent annual report on Form 20F, for a discussion of certain of
these factors.

All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information
available to Smith & Nephew as of the date hereof. All written or oral
forward-looking statements attributable to Smith & Nephew or any person acting
on behalf of Smith & Nephew are expressly qualified in their entirety by the
foregoing. Smith & Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in
Smith & Nephew's expectation with regard thereto or any change in events,
conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

SOURCE Smith & Nephew

Joe Metzger, Sr. Vice President, Corporate Communications of Smith & Nephew
Endoscopy, +1-978-749-1330, joe.metzger@smith-nephew.com