Authors

  1. Section Editor(s): Hess, Cathy Thomas BSN, RN, CWOCN

Article Content

COMPANIES

The US magistrate judge in the District Court for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division, has found in favor of HEALTHPOINT, Fort Worth, TX, and against Ethex Corporation, St Louis, MO, in connection with Ethex's marketing practices of Ethezyme.

 

In the findings, the magistrate judge recommended the entry of a preliminary injunction against Ethex, ordering Ethex to cease advertising or making statements that state or imply that Ethezyme contains the same active ingredients in the same quantities as HEALTHPOINT's product, Accuzyme. The magistrate judge determined that Ethezyme is not a generic equivalent to Accuzyme and advertising statements made by Ethex creating the impression that Ethezyme is a generic to Accuzyme are misleading.

 

In a separate decision, the magistrate judge granted HEALTHPOINT a preliminary injunction against Stratus Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Miami, FL, regarding Stratus' marketing of Kovia and Ziox. The court determined that it is likely that HEALTHPOINT will succeed in showing that Stratus' use of terms and phrases such as "generic," "generic alternative," "branded generic," "bioequivalent," or "equivalent" improperly suggest that Kovia is interchangeable with Accuzyme and that Ziox is interchangeable with Panafil because there has been no determination of these products' equivalence.

 

Closure Medical Corporation, Raleigh, NC, has entered into an agreement providing Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Company, Skillman, NJ, with worldwide supply, distribution, and development rights to Closure's Liquiderm liquid adhesive bandage technology. Included as part of the agreement are the rights to future over-the-counter products codeveloped by the partnership.

 

PRODUCTS

Prosurg, Inc, San Jose, CA, has received marketing clearance from the FDA for its BioSling bioabsorbable urethral sling products for the treatment of female incontinence. The Pubo-Vaginal and Sub-Urethral vaginal BioSlings are made from long-lasting biocompatible polymers to maximize patient safety and effectiveness and minimize the risk of infection, urethral erosion, and foreign body reaction. In addition, the BioSling has a self-locking design and offers physicians an option of superpubic or suburethral vaginal insertion.