BEIJING, April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Chinmax Medical Systems Inc., a leading cardiac biomarker distributor in China announced an update regarding the progress of its lawsuit against Inverness Medical Beijing (IMB), a subsidiary of Alere Inc.(NYSE: ALR).
According to the Complaint, Inverness Medical Beijing secretly imported massive quantities of Triage product and sold the same to Chinmax customers during the period when Chinmax retained the undisputed contractual rights as Alere’s exclusive distributor of Triage product for the China market. The Complaint also alleges that IMB violated Chinmax’s proprietary rights under the distribution agreement by submitting applications to the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) and attempting to change Chinmax’s legal status on the SFDA registrations of the Triage products. Chinmax filed suit in Beijing Chaoyang District Court in March 2010, claiming tort damages for unfair competition against Inverness Medical Beijing. Chinmax applied to the court for investigation letters allowing the collection of evidence regarding IMB’s sales invoices, importation documents, and SFDA submissions. In recent progress, the Beijing Chaoyang District Court approved Chinmax’s application and has now sent investigation letters to China Customs, State Taxation Office, and the SFDA, seeking the relevant documentation. The court is currently in the process of collecting this evidence from the China authorities. Chinmax believes the evidence will support both the China litigation against IMB and the U.S. arbitration Chinmax has filed against Alere San Diego for fraud, breach of contract and unfair competition due to unfair and illegal conduct.
Since 1999, Chinmax has been the exclusive distributor in China of diagnostics products manufactured by Biosite Incorporated (now known as Alere San Diego), a world-leading cardiac biomarkers company in San Diego, California, USA. In 2007, Biosite was acquired by Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. (now known as Alere, Inc. (NYSE: ALR)). Inverness Medical Beijing, a Chinese subsidiary of Alere, Inc., said the company obtained the right to manage contracts between Biosite and Chinmax in December 2008.
SOURCE Chinmax Medical Systems, Inc.
