DIGE Digene Corp (MM)

GAITHERSBURG, Md., July 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Digene Corp. (NASDAQ:DIGE) announced that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin issued a pre-trial claim construction decision in the pending litigation between Digene and Third Wave Technologies, Inc. In that litigation, Digene alleges that Third Wave infringes its U.S. Patent No. 5,643,715 covering probes and methods for detecting human papillomavirus (HPV) type 52, a high-risk type of HPV. In the decision, the court did not adopt all of the positions argued by Digene, Pam Rasmussen, company spokesperson, stated: "We clearly disagree with the court's decision, and continue to believe in the strength of our claims and remain committed to vigorously enforcing our intellectual property rights. As such, we are reviewing the court's opinion and evaluating our legal alternatives and next steps." Ms. Rasmussen continued: "The Digene HPV intellectual property franchise is the most extensive in the industry and our HPV test is the only HPV test approved by the FDA." Pre-trial discovery and other proceedings in the Third Wave case will continue for the remainder of 2007 and a jury trial is currently scheduled for the first quarter of 2008. Refer to the corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for more information about its claim against Third Wave Technologies. About Digene: A leader in molecular diagnostics, Digene develops, manufactures and markets proprietary DNA and RNA tests, with a focus on women's health. The company's flagship product, the Digene(R) HPV Test, is the only FDA-approved and CE-marked test for the detection of human papillomavirus, the cause of essentially all cervical cancers. Digene's product portfolio also includes tests for the detection of other sexually transmitted infections, including chlamydia and gonorrhea. Digene tests are marketed in more than 40 countries worldwide. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD, Digene is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol DIGE. For more information, visit http://www.digene.com/ and http://www.thehpvtest.com/ . Additional Information: QIAGEN N.V. has filed a Registration Statement on Form F-4, as amended, and a Schedule TO, as amended, and Digene has filed a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9, as amended, with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with QIAGEN's tender offer for Digene shares. QIAGEN and Digene commenced an exchange offer and mailed a Prospectus, which is part of the Registration Statement on Form F-4, the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 and related exchange offer materials, including a letter of election and transmittal, to shareholders of Digene. In addition to the Registration Statement on Form F-4, as amended; the Schedule TO, as amended; the Prospectus, Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9, as amended; and related exchange offer materials, both QIAGEN and Digene file or furnish annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You may read and copy any reports, statements or other information filed or furnished by QIAGEN or Digene at the Securities and Exchange Commission's Public Reference Room at Station Place, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can request copies of these documents by writing to the Securities and Exchange Commission and paying a fee for the copying cost. Please call the Securities and Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330 for more information about the operation of the Public Reference Room. QIAGEN's and Digene's SEC filings are also available to the public at the Securities and Exchange Commission's Web site at http://www.sec.gov/, or at the companies' Web sites at http://www.qiagen.com/ or http://www.digene.com/. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of the future as there are a number of meaningful factors that could cause the Company's actual results to vary materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Meaningful factors, which could cause actual results to differ from expectations include, but are not limited to, risk that other companies may develop and market HPV tests competitive with our own; our ability to scale up our manufacturing to the extent demand for our products increases; ability to develop new products; ability to execute and integrate strategic transactions; uncertainty related to changes in our senior management; and uncertainty of market acceptance of our products by the worldwide medical community, as well as other factors discussed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. For other factors, reference is made to the Company's annual and quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. DATASOURCE: Digene Corp. CONTACT: investors, Albert Fleury, Investor Relations, +1-301-944-7000, or media, Pam Rasmussen, +1-301-944-7196, both of Digene Corporation Web site: http://www.digene.com/ http://www.qiagen.com/ http://www.thehpvtest.com/

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