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| Decision Diagnostics is challenging Johnson & Johnson with Genstrip.--Courtesy of Decision Diagnostics |
Decision Diagnostics ($DECN) has secured a $12.5 million line of credit to help boost sales efforts for its glucose test strips, and is close to raising more money to support its ongoing patent fight with Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) over the product.
The Los Angeles company said it obtained the revolving credit line from Platinum Credit Management's Alpha Credit Resources. That money will help boost sales efforts behind Genstrip, a disposable glucose-testing strip that hit the U.S. market in early 2013. It's designed to run with J&J's LifeScan Ultra glucose meter as an alternative to J&J's own strips. And that fact is the reason why both companies are fighting each other in court.
J&J sued Decision for patent violations, but Decision filed counterclaims against the conglomerate, accusing it of falsely advertising that its own market-dominating glucose testing strips are better than the competition. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled that Decision's challenge to J&J's main patent may have merit, and Decision is in negotiations to raise more money to continue the fight. Decision said it is in final discussions with Platinum to back up that $12.5 million credit line with more funding to help support the legal battle.
This patent battle has legs. Giant companies typically defeat smaller ones in patent fights, but Decision has stayed in the running since 2011, even surviving an initial injunction that has since been lifted, pending an appeal. In this case, Decision is David and J&J is Goliath, and David continues to remain in the running.
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