Bausch & Lomb reaches patent swop settlement with Alcon
Alcon over the latter's infringement of its patented eye health
supplement formulation, Ocuvite PreserVision.
The terms of the agreement, approved by licensor the United States Public Health Service, were not released, but they permit Alcon to continue selling its ICAPS product, based on the formula co-developed by Bausch & Lomb and the National Eye Institute. In exchange, Bausch & Lomb is granted worldwide rights under one or more of Alcon's patents.
Bausch & Lomb filed a lawsuit against Alcon in 2003, immediately after it was granted the patent to the antioxidant and mineral formula which was used in the 10-year Age Related Eye Disease (AREDS) study.
Also in 2003 it filed suits against Leiner Health Products and General Nutrition, which have since been resolved in Bausch & Lomb's favor, with the companies signing consent decrees and removing the infringing products from the market.
Other lawsuits are still pending against Rexall Sundown and NBTY.
Earlier this month the company announced that it had filed a lawsuit against Inverness Medical Innovations for alleged infringement of the patent with its Walgreen's Ocutabs Vision Formula. Within days, however, this suit had been "dismissed without prejudice" after it was established that it does not have, make or distribute an infringing product.
"We continue to investigate all sources of products that we believe infringe our patent rights," said a company spokesperson, "and will continue to assert our patent rights against infringers."
The results of the AREDS study were released in October 2001 and indicated that the formula of vitamins A, C and E, and minerals zinc and copper can slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration (ARMG), a progressive eye disease which affects the central macula of the eye, leaving sufferers with only peripheral vision.
ARMG is the leading cause of blindness in people over age 55, affecting more than 10 million adults in the US.
Last year, Bausch & Lomb introduced two new products to the Ocuvite line: PreserVision Soft Gels AREDS Formula, which is said to deliver the same vitamins, minerals and health benefits as the original formula in two tablets a day rather than four; and PreserVision Soft Gels Lutein Formula.
