Bio-Nutra, Decas at Odds over Cranberry Products

TAMPA, Fla.—Bio-Nutra Technologies LLC, based in Venice, Fla., filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, against Wareham, Mass.-based Decas Cranberry Products and Decas Botanical Synergies on Oct. 17, 2006, alleging patent infringement and unfair competition.

Bio-Nutra owns U.S. Patent No. 6,231,866, “Infused vegetable, fruit, herb and/or seed fiber product and dietary supplements containing same”, issued in May 2001.The company sells a variety of ingredients, including a cranberry powder called Cran-Max®, produced using the patented technology. Its suit alleges Decas’ branded ingredient, PACran®, infringes on the ’866 patent and that Decas has made false claims regarding the ingredients’ clinical support. In the suit, Bio-Nutra specifically cites marketing literature that states “PACran is the first and only clinically supported and PAC [proanthocyanidin]-standardized cranberry ingredient”; Bio-Nutra stated its product contains a minimum of 1.5 percent PACs and has clinically supported tests showing it fights urinary tract infections (UTIs).

“We believe, based on the manufacturing process, content and dosage of PACran that it infringes on Bio-Nutra Technologies’ patent,” said Doug Mann, managing director at Bio-Nutra. “[Further] such false representations and misleading information could severely damage Cran-Max in the marketplace and create unfair competition.” Bio-Nutra is seeking both preliminary and permanent injunctions against Decas in addition to lost profits and punitive damages.

Decas responded to the allegations with a statement, in which it claimed Bio-Nutra’s claims are “wholly without foundation or merit” and plans to vigorously defend itself against the lawsuit. In its statement, Decas stated PACran is prepared using a manufacturing process that is significantly different than the one described in the ’866 patent. Further, Douglas Klaiber, general manager at Decas, added, “Decas stands by its claims that PACran is the first and only clinically supported and PAC-standardized cranberry supplement. Decas recognizes the Cran-Max study in the Canadian Journal of Urology as credible, but notes that the study does not identify the active compound—PAC—or address a cranberry-derived product standardized to this marker.”