Comvita to appeal UK patent ruling
NZX-listed health products company Comvita will fight a UK patent ruling; on the other side of the Atlantic its American partner has announced promising results from a clinical trial.
Listed health product company Comvita (NZX:CVT) has announced it will appeal a UK court ruling ordering it to pay costs of up to £400,000 ($835,000) to a British company over a patent dispute.
An interim payment of £287,000 will be paid by the end of February with details of the balance to be decided at a future court hearing.
Comvita will take a provision of costs for the full amount in this financial year.
The company said legal advice confirmed its view that the original court ruling “is flawed on several grounds to Comvita’s disadvantage and therefore has decided to appeal the decision.
The cost to Comvita of this appeal is expected to be less than £100,000. The UK courts have granted a stay on revocation of Comvita’s patent until an appeal (if granted) is heard.
Comvita has also announced its US partner, Derma Sciences, has received positive results from a Phase II clinical trial for its new wound-healing drug, DSC127.
The trial results found that DSC127 is up to three times more likely to result in healing of diabetic foot ulcers than conventional treatment.
Comvita has a 13% ownership (11.6% fully diluted for all warrants and options on issue) of Derma Sciences, a Nasdaq public listed company (Nasdaq:DSCI).
Derma Sciences’ share price has more than doubled in the lead up to and since the announcement last Friday.
Niko Kloeten
Mon, 07 Feb 2011
Mon, 07 Feb 2011
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Comvita to appeal UK patent ruling
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