Aker BioMarine vowed on Monday to fight a patent infringement lawsuit brought against it by Neptune Technologies & Bioresources.
Filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, the suit accuses Aker BioMarine, Jedwards International and Virgin Antarctic LLC of breaching U.S. Patent No. 6,800,299 — a method of extracting lipid fractions from krill. Neptune is a Laval, Quebec-based manufacturer of phospholipid products for the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries.
“We have confidence in the patent and will continue to take all appropriate actions needed to protect our intellectual property rights in the United States and elsewhere as required,” said Neptune President and CEO Henri Harland.
“As the pioneers of krill omega-3 phospholipids for human health, we have worked very hard over the last 11 years to substantiate our claims, obtain multinational regulatory approvals, establish our brand and protect our intellectual property,” added Neptune CEO Dr. Tina Sampalis.
On Monday, Aker BioMarine, an Oslo, Norway-based biotechnology company that produces omega-3 dietary supplements, deemed the suit “frivolous.”
However, “it was not entirely unexpected since we are aware that Neptune has repeatedly threatened several of our current and potential future customers with patent infringement lawsuits should they consider switching to Superba™,” said Aker BioMarine CEO Hallvard Muri. “Our customers can rest assured that we welcome the opportunity to face Neptune in court over this patent and that we will support our customers should they be attacked by Neptune now or in the future.”
