PLEASANTON, Calif.--()--ZELTIQ Aesthetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZLTQ), a medical technology company focused on developing and commercializing products utilizing its proprietary controlled-cooling technology platform, and the charitable trust of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) initiated a patient infringement lawsuit in France against Clinipro and its French representative on December 23, 2011.
ZELTIQ is a global medical device company that has developed an innovative, non-invasive, clinically proven procedure that selectively reduces fat through controlled cooling. Its CoolSculpting® technology is protected by numerous patents and trademarks around the world. The suit against Clinipro alleges infringement of a European patent owned by MGH and licensed to ZELTIQ, and seeks monetary damages and an injunction against further sales of Clinipro’s LipoCryo device.
Gordie Nye, President and CEO of ZELTIQ commented, “CoolSculpting uses proprietary technology that was developed after many years of investment in clinical research and product development. ZELTIQ and MGH have protected this technology in order to provide exclusivity to our commercial partners and the clinicians who invest in providing the CoolSculpting procedure.”
“Unfortunately, companies are entering the market with devices that we believe infringe this protected technology. As a result we intend to vigorously enforce our intellectual property rights throughout the world, starting with the lawsuit against Clinipro and the LipoCryo device,” said Nye.
For more information on ZELTIQ, please visit www.coolsculpting.com.
About ZELTIQ® Aesthetics, Inc.
We are a medical technology company focused on developing and commercializing products utilizing our proprietary controlled-cooling technology platform. Our first commercial product, the CoolSculpting® System, is designed to selectively reduce stubborn fat bulges that may not respond to diet or exercise. CoolSculpting is based on the scientific principle that fat cells are more sensitive to cold than the overlying skin and surrounding tissues. CoolSculpting utilizes our patented technology of precisely controlled cooling to reduce the temperature of fat cells in the treated area, which is intended to cause fat cell elimination through a natural biological process known as apoptosis, without scar tissue or damage to the skin, nerves or surrounding tissues. We developed CoolSculpting to safely, noticeable, and measurably reduce the fat layer within a treated fat bulge without requiring the patient to diet or exercise.