SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE:KCI) announced today that the specialist Patents Court of the High Court of England and Wales has entered its written judgment following the recent trial in the patent enforcement case against Smith & Nephew. After considering the prior art presented at trial, the Court determined that important claims in the KCI patent covering the use of foam dressing kits with NPWT systems are valid. The Court also ruled that Smith & Nephew's foam-based NPWT dressing kits infringe the patent claims. The Court’s judgment extends the existing injunction preventing Smith & Nephew from promoting or selling those dressing kits in the United Kingdom, while the Court considers the precise form of the injunction order and other remedies which give effect to the judgment. The court also granted the parties permission to appeal the judgment. The patent at issue in the case is exclusively licensed to KCI from Wake Forest University Health Sciences.

“We are pleased that the British Court has affirmed the validity of these key claims of the Wake Forest patent,” said Catherine M. Burzik, KCI’s President and CEO. “Millions of patients have benefited from KCI’s V.A.C. therapy technology, which is protected by the patent enforced by the UK Court today. We will continue to invest in new technology and the enforcement of our intellectual property rights, and we look forward to bringing new and innovative solutions to patients and caregivers in the future.”

About KCI

Kinetic Concepts, Inc. is a leading global medical technology company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of innovative, high-technology therapies and products for the wound care, tissue regeneration and therapeutic support system markets. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, KCI's success spans more than three decades and can be traced to a history deeply rooted in innovation and a passion for significantly improving the healing - and the lives - of patients around the world.

KCI's three primary businesses include:

Advanced Wound Care - Includes KCI's proprietary Vacuum Assisted Closure®, or V.A.C.® Therapy System, which has been clinically demonstrated to promote wound healing through unique mechanisms of action while reducing the overall cost of treating patients with complex wounds.

Regenerative Medicine - Represented by KCI's LifeCell business and includes tissue-based products for use in reconstructive, orthopedic and urogynecologic surgical procedures to repair soft tissue defects.

Therapeutic Support Systems - Includes specialty hospital beds, mattress replacement systems and overlays designed to address pulmonary complications associated with immobility, to reduce skin breakdown and assist caregivers in the safe and dignified handling of patients of size.

The company employs 7,000 people and markets its products in more than 20 countries. For more information about KCI, and how its products are changing the practice of medicine, visit www.KCI1.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the expected impact of the litigation ruling and the Company’s future plans. Forward-looking statements may contain words such as believes, expects, anticipates, estimates, projects, intends, should, seeks, future, continue, or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by them. Additional risks and factors are identified in KCI's filings with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (the SEC), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2008 which is available on the SEC's Web site at http://www.sec.gov. KCI undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.