HULL, England, November 18, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The English Court of Appeal has published a decision in the long-running dispute between KCI and Smith & Nephew relating to Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT). The full implications of the decision will be finalized in the upcoming weeks.

The Court of Appeal has found that Smith & Nephew has not infringed any valid claim of KCI's patent EP 0777504 for wound drainage equipment. Earlier in the proceedings, KCI abandoned the main claim of EP 0853950 for wound drainage canisters. The Court found that one of the sub-claims of that patent, covering the use of canisters in combination with reticulated foam dressings, is both valid and infringed. A sub-claim that could have covered the Smith & Nephew RENASYS canisters when used with gauze dressings was found to be invalid. Use of RENASYS G will not infringe either patent.

The Court has yet to rule on how this decision impacts the market. Smith & Nephew will seek to minimise the impact of the Court's decision on customers and patients who use the RENASYS system.

This latest decision relates to the UK market only. Smith & Nephew has achieved encouraging results in German court proceedings relating to the equivalent patents.

For more information about Smith & Nephew, please visit http://www.smith-nephew.com.

Inquiries Investors +44(0)20-7401-7646 Liz Hewitt Phil Cowdy Smith & Nephew Press +44-20-7404-5959 Justine McIlroy Brunswick Group Other inquiries +1-727-399-3766 Robin Carlstein Senior Vice President Smith & Nephew Advanced Wound Devices

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business with global leadership positions in Orthopaedics; including Reconstruction, Trauma and Clinical Therapies; Sports Medicine; and Advanced Wound Management.

Smith & Nephew is dedicated to helping improve people's lives. The Company prides itself on the strength of its relationships with its surgeons and professional healthcare customers, with whom its name is synonymous with high standards of performance, innovation and trust. The Company operates in 32 countries around the world. Annual sales in 2009 were nearly $3.8 billion.

Caution regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains certain forward-looking statements that may or may not prove accurate. For example, statements regarding expected revenue growth and trading margins, market trends and our product pipeline are forward-looking statements. Phrases such as "aim", "plan", "intend", "anticipate", "well-placed", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target", "consider" and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is expressed or implied by the statements. For Smith & Nephew, these factors include: economic and financial conditions in the markets we serve, especially those affecting health care providers, payors and customers; price levels for established and innovative medical devices; developments in medical technology; regulatory approvals, reimbursement decisions or other government actions; product defects or recalls; litigation relating to patent or other claims; legal compliance risks and related investigative, remedial or enforcement actions; strategic actions, including acquisitions and dispositions and our success in integrating acquired businesses; and numerous other matters that affect us or our markets, including those of a political, economic, business or competitive nature. Please refer to the documents that Smith & Nephew has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Smith & Nephew's most recent annual report on Form 20F, for a discussion of certain of these factors.

Any forward-looking statement is based on information available to Smith & Nephew as of the date of the statement. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Smith & Nephew are qualified by this caution. Smith & Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in circumstances or in Smith & Nephew's expectations.

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CONTACT: Investors, Liz Hewitt or Phil Cowdy of Smith & Nephew,+44(0)20-7401-7646, or Press, Justine McIlroy of Brunswick Group,+44-20-7404-5959, Other inquiries, Robin Carlstein, Senior Vice Presidentof Smith & Nephew Advanced Wound Devices, +1-727-399-3766