DSM-Firmenich files lawsuit against Chinese biotin manufacturer for patented technology infringement

09 Jun 2023 --- DSM-Firmenich takes legal action against Anhui Shengda Bio-pharm Co and Zhejiang Shengda Bio-pharm – a biotin manufacturer and supplier, collectively referred to as Shengda – for patent infringement.

The recently-merged nutrition leader accuses Shengda of unlawfully using its patented technology. It has petitioned the Anhui Province China court to order Shengda to pay compensation and stop using the technology.

NutritionInsight reached out for further information on what the compensation would look like, but DSM-Firmenich decided not to comment at this time as the lawsuit is ongoing.

DSM-Firmenich has petitioned the Anhui Province China court to order Shengda to pay compensation and stop using the technology.The company developed the technology for intermediate biotin production and recently received compensation and an injunction from another Chinese biotin manufacturer. The validity of the patent remains before the Supreme People’s Court of China.

“This litigation action will help protect our cutting-edge technologies and ensure we can continue to invest in biotin innovation,” says Kelsey Achenbach, senior director of Pharma and Medical Nutrition at DSM-Firmenich.

“DSM-Firmenich’s biotin production technology is at the forefront of the industry regarding quality and efficacy standards.”

Patents under threat
In January, Royal DSM filed a lawsuit against the Mara Renewables Corporation and Algal Omega-3 LTD, alleging unlawful use of the company’s algae-based docosahexaenoic acid innovations in the UK.

A few months later, in April, the two companies filed a counterclaim against Royal DSM. The companies also challenged DSM’s microbial oil purification and fermentation patents with the European Patent Office.

The counterclaim argued that the patents from DSM’s original claim should not have been eligible for a patent in the first place, asserting that they are “invalid, including for lack of novelty, obviousness, insufficiency, added matter and, or for claiming non-patentable subject matter.”

However, DSM took similar legal action in China in 2021 and won a court victory after two companies were found to be making a biotin intermediate with a patented DSM process. 

Edited by Beatrice Wihlander