Biotech secrets lawsuit against Purina PetCare upheld

The United States District Court of Eastern Missouri ruled against Nestle Purina PetCare’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit against the pet food manufacturer by Kane Biotech Inc.

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(weyo | BigStock.com)
(weyo | BigStock.com)

The United States District Court of Eastern Missouri ruled against Nestle Purina PetCare’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit against the pet food manufacturer by Kane Biotech Inc.

“Nestle had filed a motion to dismiss which is standard practice,” said Marc Edwards, chief executive officer of Kane Biotech in a press release. “We fully expected the case to proceed and we will now move into the discovery phase. We anxiously look forward to this opportunity as this is where we will be able to concretely discover the actions of Nestle which we believe were inappropriate, caused damage to Kane and are compensable.”

Nestle now has to answer Kane’s complaint, which is due in February.

Purina Petcare sued over antimicrobial biotechnology

In March 2018, Kane Biotech Inc. filed a lawsuit against Nestec, Ltd. and Nestlé Purina Petcare Global Resources, Inc. for breach of agreements between the parties, and misappropriation of Kane Biotech’s biotechnology trade secrets and intellectual property.

In the six-count complaint filed under seal in United States federal court in Missouri, Kane Biotech alleges, amongst other improper activities, that a Nestlé patent application makes improper use of Kane Biotech’s patent rights for oral care, personal care and wound care antimicrobial and anti-biofilm technologies that the Kane Biotech developed.

"Kane Biotech has invested significantly in its intellectual property and it will vigorously protect and defend its interests and the interests of its shareholders against anyone who seeks to profit from it without proper compensation to our Corporation,” Mark Ahrens-Townsend, president and CEO of Kane Biotech, said in a press release.

About Kane Biotech Inc.

Kane Biotech is a biotechnology company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of technologies and products that prevent and remove microbial biofilms

Kane Biotech has a portfolio of biotechnologies, intellectual property (75 patents and patents pending, trade secrets and trademarks) and products developed by the corporation’s own biofilm research expertise and acquired from research institutions. StrixN, DispersinB, Aledex, bluestem, AloSera, coactiv and Kane are trademarks of Kane Biotech Inc.

About Nestle Purina PetCare

According to Petfood Industry’s Top Pet Food Companies Current Data, Nestlé Purina claims three headquarters globally: St. Louis, Missouri, USA, for its North American and Latin American operations; Lausanne, Switzerland, in Europe; and Sydney, Australia, covering Asia, Oceania and Africa. Its parent company Nestlé's world headquarters are in Vevey, Switzerland.

  • Annual Revenue 2017: US$12,500,000,000
  • Production Plants 2017: 46
  • Total Facilities 2017: 58
  • Employees 2017: 14,500
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