SAN DIEGO, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NuVasive, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUVA), a medical device company focused on developing products for minimally disruptive surgical treatments for the spine, announced today that it has obtained a complaint brought by Medtronic Sofamor Danek alleging patent infringement involving certain NuVasive products.

Alex Lukianov, NuVasive's Chairman and CEO, said, 'It is not surprising that Medtronic would attempt to intimidate NuVasive with this suit, since NuVasive represents a growing threat to Medtronic's spine business. Medtronic did not notify us of the lawsuit prior to filing it, and has not been in contact with us yet. We have obtained a copy of the complaint and are in the process of reviewing it and assessing our defenses. Based on our initial review, we do not expect our existing operations to be significantly disrupted as we respond to this lawsuit. Given the existing patents referenced by Medtronic in the complaint, we are also analyzing our potential counterclaims based on our own significant patent portfolio and intellectual property rights.'

Mr. Lukianov continued, 'We would prefer to compete with Medtronic in the market, but we are prepared to defend ourselves in the courtroom so that patients can continue to experience the innovations that NuVasive has brought to the field of spinal care. The timing of this lawsuit is strange given the fact the allegedly infringing products in some instances have been on the market for several years. Nonetheless, we will vigorously defend ourselves in this action. More importantly, we will stay focused on building our business and remaining a leader in the development of creative spine surgery products that benefit patients.'

About NuVasive

NuVasive is a medical device company focused on the design, development and marketing of products for the surgical treatment of spine disorders. The Company's product portfolio is focused on applications in the over $4.2 billion U.S. spine fusion market. The Company's current principal product offering includes a minimally disruptive surgical platform called Maximum Access Surgery, or MAS(R), as well as a growing offering of cervical and motion preservation products.

The MAS platform offers advantages for both patients and surgeons such as reduced surgery and hospitalization time and faster recovery. MAS combines three categories of current product offerings: NeuroVision(R) a proprietary software-driven nerve avoidance system; MaXcess(R) a unique split-blade design retraction system; and specialized implants, like SpheRx(R) and CoRoent(R), that collectively minimize soft tissue disruption during spine surgery while allowing maximum visualization and surgical reproducibility.