I-Flow Corporation Continues to Enforce Its Patent and Trade Secret Rights against Apex Medical's Solace(R) Pump Distributed by Zone Medical, LLC

October 10, 2008 8:00 PM EDT

LAKE FOREST, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

I-Flow Corporation (NASDAQ: IFLO) continues to enforce its patent and trade secret rights against Apex Medical Technologies, Inc. and its president, Mark McLaughlin, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. I-Flow is also enforcing its patent rights against distributors of Apex's Solace(R) Pump, including Zone Medical, LLC. In view of early successes achieved in the lawsuit in the Southern District of California, I-Flow will ask the Court to rule, as a legal matter, that Apex, McLaughlin and Zone have infringed the patent. I-Flow is also vigorously moving forward in the case to protect its valuable trade secrets.

In response to the litigation brought by I-Flow, the defendants asked the United States Patent and Trademark Office to reexamine I-Flow's patent. The Patent Office routinely grants such requests and often times initially rejects previously issued patent claims. The Patent Office has taken this action after receiving Apex's position on the patent without input from I-Flow. I-Flow will now have an opportunity to present its position to the Patent Office in support of the patentability of the patent-in-suit, US Patent No. 5,284,481 ("the '481 patent"). I-Flow believes that, once its position has been presented to the Patent Office, the Patent Office will reconfirm the patent as it did in 1994 when it issued the '481 patent. Indeed, the primary prior art relied on by Apex, McLaughlin and Zone in the reexamination process that I-Flow has not yet participated in, and relied upon by the Patent Office in rejecting the claims, is in fact technology owned by I-Flow.

"While we believe we have a strong case against Apex, it is important to note that our success is not built solely around one patent," said Donald M. Earhart, Chairman, President and CEO of I-Flow. "Our success is based on a total package that includes a high quality disposable pump, a patented silver-coated soaker catheter, more than 60 clinical studies, our FDA-cleared indications that ON-Q(R) significantly reduces the need for narcotics and provides better pain relief than narcotics alone following surgery and, last but not least, our unsurpassed surgical sales force that spans the U.S. No other company in the market today even comes close to matching the breadth of our quality product line and the strength of our distribution. This is why we are the leader in this space."

I-Flow continues to believe that Apex, McLaughlin and distributors of the Solace(R) Pump, such as Zone, infringe the '481 patent and I-Flow will continue to protect its patent, as well as its valuable trade secrets, in the Courts.

About I-Flow

I-Flow Corporation (www.IFLO.com) is improving surgical outcomes by designing, developing and marketing technically-advanced, low-cost drug delivery systems and innovative surgical products for post-surgical pain relief and surgical site care. For more information on I-Flow Corporation visit www.iflo.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement

Statements by the Company in this press release and in other reports and statements released by the Company are and will be forward-looking in nature and express the Company's current opinions about trends and factors that may impact future operating results. Statements that use words such as "may," "will," "should," "believes," "predicts," "estimates," "projects," "anticipates" or "expects" or use similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to material risks, assumptions and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently expected, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publish revised forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated or subsequent events. Readers are also urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by the Company in this press release that seek to advise interested parties of the risks and other factors that affect the Company's business. Interested parties should also review the Company's reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K and other reports that are periodically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The risks affecting the Company's business include, among others: physician acceptance of infusion-based therapeutic regimens; implementation of the Company's direct sales strategy; successful integration of the Company's recent acquisition of AcryMed Incorporated and further development and commercialization of AcryMed's technologies; potential inadequacy of insurance to cover existing and future product liability claims; dependence on the Company's suppliers and distributors; the Company's continuing compliance with applicable laws and regulations, such as the Medicare Supplier Standards and the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and Medicare's and the FDA's concurrence with management's subjective judgment on compliance issues; the reimbursement system currently in place and future changes to that system; product availability, acceptance and safety; competition in the industry; technological changes; intellectual property challenges and claims; economic and political conditions in foreign countries; currency exchange rates; inadequacy of booked reserves or future impairment expenses; potential non-cash purchase accounting adjustments associated with the AcryMed acquisition; and reliance on the success of the home health care industry. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this press release or elsewhere, should be considered in context with the various disclosures made by the Company about its business.

Source: I-Flow Corporation

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