DECN Believes that Health Industry Giant is Employing Very Risky Summary Judgment Strategy in $400 Million Case
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 27, 2018 / Decision Diagnostics Corp. (OTC PINK: DECN), is the manufacturer, quality plan administrator and the exclusive worldwide sales, service and regulatory processes agent for the GenUltimate! and GenSure! glucose test strips, both designed to work with the market leading Johnson & Johnson's (''J&J'') LifeScan OneTouch Ultra and Select family of glucose testing meters, and the GenChoice! and GenPrecis! glucose test strips and meters now in clinical trials and advanced pre-market testing.
The company today reports two consequential updates in the nearly seven-year legal battle with two divisions of pharmaceutical industry giant Johnson + Johnson (''J&J''). In September 2011, J&J began a series of lawsuits based on allegations of patent and trademark infringement. Three of these lawsuits were settled in DECN's favor in May 2016.
During settlement negotiations, which began in March 2016, DECN filed a separate lawsuit through its two IP management subsidiaries in the United States District Court, District of Nevada, in Las Vegas, NV, Case 2:16-cv-00564, titled Pharma Tech Solutions, Inc. et al v. Lifescan, Inc. et al naming Johnson & Johnson and its divisions Lifescan, Inc. and Lifescan Scotland Ltd. for alleged infringement in relation to U.S. Patent numbers 6,153,069, an apparatus patent, and 6,413,411, a method patent.
Keith Berman, Principal Executive of Decision Diagnostics, stated, ''Our litigation record of consecutive litigation victories against arguably the most powerful healthcare company on the planet extends back over six years. That legal history forewarned the headwind we would face in undertaking this patent infringement lawsuit but also alerted us to the delay tactics and obfuscation that would be desperately employed to avoid the final judgment in our favor. J&J first filed the expected Motion to Dismiss the DECN suit devoid of evidence and based almost solely on testimony and pleadings in the first three cases. The trial judge justifiably ruled that their (J&J's) word would not be adequate; a significant departure from prior litigation.''
Concurrent to the Motion to Dismiss rejection, the judge simultaneously ruled that PharmaTech would be permitted to file an amended complaint which could include further detail concerning patent infringement under the Doctrine of Equivalents; a significant advantage which minimizes the companies' burden in infringement cases.
J&J, consistent with their historic tactical pattern of litigation delay, then filed a Motion for Summary Judgment. Despite a low probability of success, and the absence of legal appeal option for these Motions, J&J has, through its filing, successfully delayed the legal process for an additional thirteen months to date. Fortunately, once concluded, the legal pendulum once again reverts to DECN's potent legal position, where it should remain for the remainder of the litigation.
Mr. Berman continued, ''Victory on the legal battlefields with J&J is no longer enough for the company and its shareholders. It is time to substantially monetize those legal victories. J&J failed in their prior attempts to subvert our legitimate efforts to market our feature superior and inexpensive blood glucose test strip alternative. They will continue to fail through this pursuit of justice for their repeated violation of our patents with the infringement of the DECN subsidiaries owned US patents 6,153,069 and 6,413,411, over a period of time where J&J sold billions and billions of dollars in value for their test strips, where in the companies' opinion, every one of those test strips sold infringed on our patents.''
Mr. Berman concluded, ''The expected new DECN products being launched into the market, with DECN on the cusp of new IP insurance, and with J&J's Lifescan division sale pending, the DECN infringement case is expected to conclude sooner than we had anticipated, and we believe sooner than J&J anticipated.''
DECN anticipates filing its 2017 Annual Report on or about March 31, 2018.
ABOUT DECISION DIAGNOSTICS CORP.
Decision Diagnostics Corp. is the leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of diabetic test strips engineered to operate on legacy glucose meters. DECN's products are designed to operate efficiently and less expensively on certain glucose meters already in use by almost 6 million diabetics worldwide. With new inspired technology diabetic test strips already in the final stages of development, DECN products will shortly compete on a worldwide scale with legacy manufacturers currently selling to 72+ percent of a $14.4 billion market.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This release contains the Company's forward-looking statements which are based on management's current expectations and assumptions as of March 26, 2018, regarding the Company's business and performance, its prospects, current factors, the economy and other future conditions and forecasts of future events, circumstances and results.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Decision Diagnostics Corp.
Keith Berman (805) 446-2973
Joanne Broeders (305) 340-1000
[email protected]
www.decisiondiagnostics.com
www.pharmatechdirect.com
SOURCE: Decision Diagnostics Corp.