Catheter Connections® Announces a Fifth Patent Protecting its IV Disinfection Technology

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Catheter Connections, a start-up company co-founded by nurses seeking to reduce deadly hospital-acquired bloodstream infections, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has issued a Notice of Allowance for a patent that broadly covers the Company’s DualCap^® technology for disinfecting IV tubing end connectors (a “male luer” connector). The patent will issue on December 11, 2012 as U.S. Patent Number 8,328,767. This patent will be the fifth in the Company’s U.S. IP portfolio, which provides exclusive patent protection for the male luer disinfecting caps.

“The issuance of yet another patent for our IV disinfection technology is an important milestone for the Company as we continue expanding our IP portfolio that broadly covers the disinfection of male luer connectors”

The Company was the first to recognize and demonstrate that the IV tubing male luer connector is a vector of microbial contamination and is a significant risk factor for hospital-acquired infections. In its mission to save patient lives, Catheter Connections conceived, developed, manufactures and markets the DualCap System™, which includes DualCap^® ─ the first 510(k) cleared medical device that disinfects male luer connectors, killing the microorganisms known to cause bloodstream infections and protecting the connectors from contamination.

The Company has a pending lawsuit against Ivera Medical Corporation (“Ivera”), in the U.S. District Court of Utah, Central Division, Case No. 2:12-cv-00531-DN. Catheter Connections accuses Ivera of patent infringement, unfair competition, deceptive practices and false advertising related to Ivera’s Curos Tips™ – a “me-too” copy of Catheter Connections’ DualCap component that disinfects and protects the male luer.

“The issuance of yet another patent for our IV disinfection technology is an important milestone for the Company as we continue expanding our IP portfolio that broadly covers the disinfection of male luer connectors,” said Vicki Farrar, Esq., CEO of Catheter Connections. “Hospitals using the DualCap System are reporting significant improvements in patient safety by reducing IV catheter-related bloodstream infections.”

The DualCap System also includes a component for disinfection of IV luer access valves, which are the female connectors into which an IV tubing male luer fits. In addition to Catheter Connections, there are three other manufacturers of disinfecting caps for use only on luer access valves: Ivera, Hospira, Inc., and Excelsior Medical Corporation. Ivera has a history of filing suits against its competitors ─ the same Ivera patents at issue in each suit pending against its competitors are currently in inter partes reexaminations in which the USPTO has rejected each of Ivera’s patent claims for which reexamination was requested. In granting the reexaminations, the USPTO concluded that there is a reasonable likelihood the Ivera patent claims are invalid, and has issued office actions rejecting all the contested claims.

About Catheter Connections

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, Catheter Connections^®, Inc., develops and commercializes innovative vascular access products designed to protect patients from acquiring infections during intravenous infusion therapy. Its DualCap System™ is a family of user-friendly products that provides healthcare facilities with a cost-effective, integrated solution for IV disinfection and protection, helping in the fight against IV catheter-related blood stream infections. Designed by nurses for nurses, flagship product DualCap^® safely disinfects both IV tubing end connectors and IV catheter access valves — a major breakthrough for infection control. For more information, visit www.catheterconnections.com.