Becton, Dickinson and Co (BDX) recently received an unfavorable ruling with respect to its lawsuit against Retractable Technologies Inc. The court ordered Becton, Dickinson to apprise its customers about the false claims it has made of offering sharper syringes that use less medicine.
As per reports by Reuters, Becton, Dickinson is required to notify customers through its website and provide thorough training to employees and distributors in order to avoid such false claims in the future.
As compared to traditional syringes, safety syringes reduce the chances of an accident, as the needle retracts into the syringe following injection. Through its VanishPoint safety syringe product, Retractable Technologies competes with Becton Dickinson in this particular market.
The lawsuit dates way back to 2007, when Retractable Technologies charged Becton, Dickinson of frantically trying to build a monopoly with the aid of deceitful advertising campaigns.
In Sep 2013, a jury ruled that Becton, Dickinson had violated the Lanham Act's false advertising embargo by claiming that its Integra, Safety-Lok, SafetyGlide and Eclipse safety syringes are the world’s sharpest needles.
Retractable Technologies won $340 million in damages from this infringement. However, the company’s bid to retrieve an additional amount of $260 million on grounds of violation of the U.S. Trademark Act was rejected by the U.S. federal court judge.
The judge also demanded a recalculation of Retractable Technologies’ initial claim of $36.5 million in legal fees, citing that it was on the higher side.
Although the adverse ruling is a setback for Becton, Dickinson, we believe that it will not have any material impact on the company’s overall results, at least in the near term.
Zacks Rank
Currently, Becton, Dickinson has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks include Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (MMSI), AmerisourceBergen Corporation (ABC) and Steris Corp. (STE). While Merit Medical Systems sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both AmerisourceBergen and Steris Corp carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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