injection-istock-507070936_brianajackson
BrianAJackson / iStockphoto.com
15 October 2018Americas

Nestlé health unit sued over injection technology

Nestlé’s Skin Health unit has been accused of infringing patents and misappropriating trade secrets relating to neurotoxin and derma filler injections.

Truinject, a Delaware-based developer of injection technologies, filed the complaint against Nestlé Skin Health and a number of its employees at the US District Court for the Central District of California on Friday, October 12.

Neurotoxin injections smooth skin by temporarily paralysing muscles. Filler injections, such as collagen, are then used to restore volume by inserting a gel-like substance under the skin, Truinject explained.

Serious injuries such as blindness, breathing difficulties, and death can be caused by “improper” injections, the complaint said.

Truinject has developed a “sophisticated injection training platform” and a “virtual and augmented reality training system” which allegedly allow providers to refine their injection technique without exposing patients to the complications of bad injections.

As part of this project, Truinject created a multi-layered human head model (‘Kate’) with a “3D tracking system, a syringe, and a user interface that allows the user to see on a screen the location, the angle, and the depth of a needle and the consequences of the injections on a 3D image”.

Truinject owns seven patents in the US and UK related to these inventions. For example, in 2017, the US Patent and Trademark Office issued US number 9,792,836, titled “Injection training apparatus using 3D position sensor”.

The complaint added that Truinject’s proprietary technology is also protected by trade secrets and trade dress.

According to the suit, Nestlé Skin Health arranged for Truinject to demonstrate its technology, including Kate, in 2014.

The two companies allegedly signed a number of confidential disclosure agreements, which stated that Nestlé could only use Truinject’s confidential information to evaluate a potential deal with Truinject.

However, Truinject alleged that Nestlé started to develop its own injection training technology in 2015. Nestlé created its own human head model called ‘Holly’, which looks “just like Kate, down to the same beauty marks”, the complaint said.

Truinject accused Nestlé of making false representations about a potential agreement in order to obtain the information necessary to launch Holly.

Truinject has asked the court to award general, actual, compensatory, and consequential damages for a range of claims, including patent infringement, trade dress infringement, and trade secret misappropriation.

The Delaware company is seeking a disgorgement of Nestlé’s profits, triple damages for wilful infringement, and an order preventing further acts of infringement.

Finally, Truinject has asked the court to assign it all of Nestlé’s IP which resulted from exposure to Truinject’s confidential information.

The suit comes shortly after Nestlé put the Skin Health division up for sale, citing the need for Nestlé to “sharpen its focus on food, beverage, and nutritional health products”.

Did you enjoy reading this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox.


More on this story

Americas
17 October 2018   Nestlé Skin Health and Palette Life Sciences have entered into a global licensing agreement intended to improve outcomes for patients with urological and colorectal disorders.
Biotechnology
14 January 2020   German biotech Jennewein has accused Nestlé Nutrition of infringing patents covering a process of purifying human milk oligosaccharides to make its infant formula.

More on this story

Americas
17 October 2018   Nestlé Skin Health and Palette Life Sciences have entered into a global licensing agreement intended to improve outcomes for patients with urological and colorectal disorders.
Biotechnology
14 January 2020   German biotech Jennewein has accused Nestlé Nutrition of infringing patents covering a process of purifying human milk oligosaccharides to make its infant formula.