According to the terms of the complaint, seven suppliers of co-enzyme Q10 allegedly infringed “directly and/or indirectly” Kaneka’s US Patent No. 7,910,340. The Japanese company asked ITC to initiate an investigation into the “unauthorized use of the Kaneka Patent”.
“Kaneka will vigorously defend these rights and will not hesitate to initiate court proceedings to protect its intellectual property,” said Yoshimi Uchida, general manager of QOL Division at Kaneka.
“Kaneka’s goal is to protect the results of its research and development and to avoid the unauthorized use of its innovations,” he added.
The complaint names seven other CoQ10 suppliers in its complaint, including Zhejiang Medicine Co. Ltd., ZMC-USA, LLC, Xiamen Kingdomway Group Company, Pacific Rainbow International, Inc, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc., Maypro Industries, Inc., and Shenzou Biology & Technology Co., Ltd.
Patent #7,910,340, issued March 22, 2011 and entitled "Process for Producing Coenzyme Q10" describes the production of ubiquinol (CoQ10) from ubiquinone (QH – the reduced form of CoQ10).
ZMC response
In response to the ITC complaint, ZMC-USA released a statement that read: “Kaneka at no point mentions having specific knowledge of ZMC’s process in any of its allegations but instead bases its allegations on assumption and speculation.
“ZMC clearly does not infringe the narrowed claims provided in Kaneka’s 340 patent. It is for that reason that ZMC sued Kaneka for a declaratory judgment of non-infringement in Texas before Kaneka sued ZMC and other companies in California and at the ITC.”
“By claiming that ZMC is distributing “infringing products” with no direct knowledge of the process used is irresponsible, false, defamatory, and representative of a company which has but one product to offer the industry,” added the company.
What next?
Moving forward, Kaneka said it expects the ITC to initiate an investigation, with a resolution by May 2012. In addition to the alleged patent infringement, Kaneka said it was seeking an “Exclusion Order barring the importation of infringing products, prohibiting further sales of infringing products that have already been imported, and halting the marketing, advertising, demonstration and warehousing of inventory for distribution and use of such imported products in the United States”.
CoQ10 benefits
CoQ10 – or coenzyme Q10 plays a vital role in the production of chemical energy in mitochondria – the 'power plants' of the cell – by participating in the production of adenosince triphosphate (ATP), the body's co-called 'energy currency'.
It has been studied for its role in cognitive health, heart health, and anti-aging (in oral and topical formulations). It has also been shown to benefit those suffering from angina, heart attack and hypertension.
Its use in the US, particularly in supplements, has been boosted by the rise in popularity of statin drugs which deplete the body's natural stores of CoQ10.