Inamed is reported to have filed a lawsuit in California against a subsidiary of pharma- and cosmeceuticals company and Medicis claiming the latter's Restylane product infringes a patents it holds for a rival treatment, Hylaform.
As reported by CosmeticsDesign on 23 April 2004, Inamed and Genzyme recently announced the approval of the US Food and Drug Administration for its hyaluronic acid-based Hylaform.
Restylane is an important brand for Medicis, which on 29 April 2004 reported its 3Q results as having increased by around a third, primarily as a result of net overall growth in sales of its core brands, including North American sales of Restylane.
The lawsuit will no doubt come as a blow to the company's chairman and chief executive Jonah Shacknai who, when the results were announced, said: "We are pleased to announce a very solid quarter led by the US launch of Restylane."
Medicis bought the North American distribution rights to Restylane in March last year from Swedish biotech company Q-Med for US$160 million (€130 m). The product received FDA approval last December prior to its launch on 6 January 2004.
Restylane is also made of hyaluronic acid, in the form of a crystal-clear gel called Non-Animal Stabilised Hyaluronic Acid, or NASHA. Hyaluronic acid is composed of dimeric sugar, a uniform linear polysaccharide. The hyaluronic acid molecule is hydrophilic, or "water-loving", a feature that allows it to bind to water to provide long-lasting results.