DUSA Pharma reports law suit from River's Edge

DUSA Pharmaceuticals reports that a law suit was filed by fellow USA-based River's Edge Pharmaceuticals on March 28, alleging, among other things, that Sirius Laboratories, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DUSA, agreed to authorize River's Edge to market a generic version of Nicomide (zinc oxide), and that the US patent covering this product issued to Sirius in December 2005 is invalid. The declaratory judgment suit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Gainesville Division. Nicomide is one of the key products DUSA acquired from Sirius in its recent merger, which closed on March 10.

Bob Doman, DUSA's president, stated: "DUSA has aggressively protected its proprietary patent and trade mark positions in the past and will take the necessary and appropriate actions in this matter as well. We remain very pleased with our acquisition of Sirius, and will continue to focus on the ongoing integration of the companies."