BALTIMORE, June 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- After more than a year and a half of litigation in which Millennium Laboratories attacked Ameritox’s advertisements, science and its entire brand, a Consent Order signed by both companies ended the dispute this week with the science behind Ameritox’s Rx Guardian and Rx Guardian CD emerging unscathed.
Millennium Laboratories scrutinized volumes of advertisements and other materials that Ameritox had used, some as old as five years. As the trial neared, the number of advertisements challenged was narrowed to only four, two of which hadn’t seen the light of day for almost four years, and one of which was a booth backdrop used a handful of times in 2009.
NO NEED exists for Ameritox to change its current products or services. NO financial damages of any nature were awarded. NO adverse ruling was made by the Court as to the science behind Ameritox’s industry-leading Rx Guardian CD, despite Millennium’s misleading claims to the contrary. Rx Guardian CD will continue to be offered WITHOUT CHANGE.
Amazingly enough, Millennium’s witness Dr. Howard Heit, who was brought in as an expert to testify against part of Ameritox’s science, admitted that he failed to even review the protocol for the reference database supporting Rx Guardian CD.
Millennium issued a press release on Wednesday that did not reflect accurately the Court decision, its context or facts, nor did it accurately reflect the consequences of these matters. The Federal Court has now taken the extraordinary step of issuing a Preliminary Injunction labeling Millennium’s press release “misleading” and requiring Millennium to withdraw the press release and preventing them from using it as sales material.
“Millennium went hunting for a lion, bagged a millipede, and then bragged about it,” said Ancelmo Lopes, Chief Executive Officer of Ameritox. “The Millennium press release issued on Wednesday strays from the facts and is not reflective of the tone and substance of the final resolution in the case, which Millennium had agreed to minutes earlier. We believe that their press release is, however, consistent with prior Millennium marketing materials and sales practices. We encourage people seeking fact-based information to contact us.”
“Millennium Laboratories sought millions in damages from the Court and was awarded nothing,” said Lopes. “It speaks volumes that the Court excluded Millennium’s claims for money damages.”
Millennium Laboratories currently has lawsuits against several of its competitors. Some previous lawsuits against others which have concluded have also finished with a whimper.
“While we invest in advancing science to improve patient care and safety, this competitor is dead set on bringing lawsuits against us and other sector leaders, instead of directing resources that could be better invested in quality products and services to support the pain-management community,” added Lopes. “After months of enduring Millennium’s relentless litigation tactics and press releases that are in our view inconsistent with reality, the Court decision and Consent Order removes claims by Millennium against Rx Guardian and Rx Guardian CD.”
“Rx Guardian CD provides physicians with a unique and advanced database of patients clinically assessed for adherence to pain medications. We offer cutting edge tools to assist physicians and help them safely treat patients with chronic pain while reducing the risk of drug misuse and abuse,” said Harry Leider, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Ameritox. “Ameritox’s benefit to physicians remains unchanged. The Court’s decision had no impact on the quality of our science and the value of our products. Ameritox is committed to providing tools to support physicians’ clinical decision-making, by helping them assess whether patients are taking pain medications correctly.”
About Ameritox
Ameritox is the nation’s leader in Pain Medication Monitoring Solutions®, offering specialized laboratory testing and reporting services. Ameritox’s expertise and innovative science provide physicians with insights and support to enhance and optimize the care of chronic pain patients. Ameritox offers the most thorough pain medication monitoring lab process Rx Guardian(SM) with Rx Guardian CD(SM), the only pain medication screening with a proprietary normalization algorithm and a reference database of pain patients assessed for medication adherence. Patient results are compared against this database, helping physicians assess whether patients are taking their pain medications correctly. Monitoring through urine drug testing helps physicians make more informed clinical decisions and manage the risks and complexities associated with prescribing pain medications. Ameritox is headquartered in Baltimore, Md. with laboratory facilities in Midland, Texas and Greensboro, N.C. Ameritox can be found online at www.ameritox.com, on Twitter @Ameritox, or on Facebook at facebook.com/ameritox.
© 2012 Ameritox Ltd. All rights reserved. AMERITOX, the AMERITOX logos, AMERITOX AUTOREMINDER, AMERITOX MEDICATION MONITORING SOLUTIONS, AMERITOX UNIVERSITY, PAIN MEDICATION MONITORING SOLUTIONS, POWERED BY YOUR NEED TO KNOW and PROTECT YOUR PATIENTS. PROTECT YOUR PRACTICE. RX GUARDIAN, RX GUARDIAN CD, and RX GUARDIAN AUTOREMINDER are trademarks of Ameritox.
Contact:
Lon Wagner
Director of Communications
336-387-7742
SOURCE Ameritox
