Decision Diagnostics Corp. and Its Subsidiary PharmaTech Solutions, Inc. Sue Johnson & Johnson Division LifeScan, Inc. and Li...
April 04 2013 - 12:31PM
Marketwired
Decision Diagnostics Corp. (OTCBB: DECN) the exclusive world-wide
sales, service and regulatory processes agent for the Shasta
GenStrip, the revolutionary at-home glucose test strip specifically
designed to work with the Johnson & Johnson's LifeScan family
of glucose testing meters, announced today that on March 28, 2013
the company and its subsidiary PharmaTech Solutions, Inc. filed
antitrust counterclaims against LifeScan, Inc. and LifeScan
Scotland, Ltd. (collectively, "LifeScan") in a patent action
brought by LifeScan (2011cv04494) that is presently pending in the
Northern District of California. DECN and PharmaTech are defendants
in that action. DECN is a leading provider of prescription and
non-prescription diagnostics, home testing products for the
chronically ill and a premier developer of revolutionary cell phone
centric e-health products and technologies.
The counterclaims assert violations of the Sherman Antitrust
Act, which carry with them, if successful, awards of treble
damages, attorneys' fees, and injunctive relief. DECN and
PharmaTech allege that the LifeScan parties, which are subsidiaries
of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, have violated both
Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. Section 1 makes illegal every
"contract, combination. . . or conspiracy in restraint of trade."
Section 2 forbids monopolization and attempts to monopolize a
product market. DECN and PharmaTech allege in their counterclaims
that both prongs of the Act have been violated, by among other
things, LifeScan's instituting of baseless patent litigation
against PharmaTech and DECN intended to exclude the Shasta GenStrip
from competing in a market dominated by LifeScan.
LifeScan and Johnson & Johnson have long claimed to be the
market leader in the home blood glucose monitoring market, boasting
an over thirty percent (30%) share of that market. The market is
highly concentrated, dominated by four major pharmaceutical
companies which together control 83.5% of that market. Blood
glucose monitoring systems are comprised of a monitor and testing
strips. Significantly, until the potential entry of the Shasta
GenStrip, all four market leaders paired their propriety blood
glucose meters with their own testing strips, forestalling any
competition from competing strips, which could offer substantial
costs savings to consumers. The FDA 's recent clearance of the
GenStrip for use with certain OneTouch Ultra meters clears the way
for such competition and for the substantial consumer savings it
would bring.
The antitrust counterclaims allege that, to maintain its
much-vaunted market leadership in the blood glucose monitoring
market, LifeScan has illegally "tied" the use of its popular
OneTouch Ultra meters to its own proprietary testing strips. Tying
arrangements violate Section 1 of the Sherman Act because they
force purchasers to forego free choice in the marketplace. These
"tying" transactions are often declared to be illegal "per se,"
that is, so plainly in contravention of antitrust principles that
they require no further analysis of effects on competition.
The counterclaim alleges that, to the extent that LifeScan
claims its meters (glucose measuring device) are protected by
patent, which DECN and PharmaTech vehemently dispute, LifeScan has
no right to expand any such rights to control the sale of strips.
There is no functional reason to require consumers to use the
LifeScan strips, nor is there any patent justification. PharmaTech
and DECN claim that LifeScan has taken numerous steps, including
the institution of baseless patent litigation, to eliminate
competition and to exclude the GenStrip from the market so as to
require exclusive use of the LifeScan strips with the OneTouch
Ultra meter. These tactics violate longstanding and fundamental
antitrust principles. They injure consumers by forbidding
competition from the lower-priced GenStrip. Second, DECN and
PharmaTech also allege that LifeScan has monopolized and is
attempting to monopolize the market for test strips compatible with
LifeScan's meters and has created a dangerous probability of
success. These acts have no basis in any patent or functional
principal, and only serve the purpose of preserving LifeScan's
market dominance.
Disclaimer:
GenStrip™ test strips are a product of Shasta Technologies, LLC
and are not manufactured, distributed, endorsed, or approved by nor
associated with LifeScan®, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson® Company,
manufacturers and distributors of the OneTouch® Ultra® Family of
Meters and OneTouch® Ultra® test strips.
Forward-Looking Statements:
Forward-looking statements are statements made herein which do
not address historical facts and, therefore, could be interpreted
to be forward-looking statements. We can give no assurance that the
expectations indicated by such forward-looking statements will be
realized. There may be other risks and circumstances that we are
unable to predict. When used in this release, words such as
"believes," "expects," "forecasts," "intends," "projects," "plans,"
"anticipates," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to
identify forward-looking statements, although there may be certain
statements not accompanied by such expressions. Such statements are
subject to factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from anticipated results. The forward-looking statements
included in this press release represent our views as of March 31,
2013. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments may
cause our views to change.
Contact: Keith Berman Secretary and CFO
info@decisiondiagnostics.com 2660 Townsgate Road Suite 300 Westlake
Village, CA 91361 Ph: 805-446-2973 Fax: 805-446-1983
Decision Diagnostics (CE) (USOTC:DECN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Decision Diagnostics (CE) (USOTC:DECN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024