L&K Biomed, Temporary Sales Ban Injunction... "Impact Expected to Be Limited"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] L&K Biomed announced on the 18th that its U.S. sales subsidiary, Aegis Spine, may temporarily suspend sales of one of its height-expandable cages, the ‘AccelFix-XT’.

Life Spine filed an injunction with the U.S. District Court in Illinois. As a major competitor of L&K Biomed in the spinal implant field, Life Spine had entrusted Aegis Spine with the distribution and sales of its product ‘ProLift.’ However, due to business conflicts between the two companies, the transaction was halted.

L&K Biomed received FDA approval for the height-expandable cage product AccelFix-XT. Shortly thereafter, in October 2019, Life Spine filed a lawsuit against Aegis Spine to stop the sales of AccelFix-XT, citing breach of the agency contract between the two companies.

Despite two years of legal disputes, the U.S. court had not issued a ruling on the lawsuit. Recently, the U.S. court issued a preliminary injunction considering the possibility of expanded damages such as infringement of business goodwill, based on rebuttal materials submitted by Life Spine.

The Illinois District Court decided on the preliminary injunction application filed by Life Spine to prohibit sales. To enforce this, Life Spine must post a bond of $6 million (approximately 7 billion KRW) with the court. The injunction’s effect is also temporarily valid only until the final judgment in the main lawsuit is made.

Aegis Spine stated that it cannot accept the legal decision and will actively respond in the main lawsuit if resolution through settlement attempts fails. Aegis Spine’s representative said, "L&K Biomed’s product is unrelated to Life Spine’s product," and "the preliminary injunction decision has many issues based on the facts and relevant laws."

Regarding concerns that sales in the U.S. market might decline due to the U.S. court’s decision, the representative explained, "The legal decision is limited only to AccelFix-XT," and "the region is the United States, so sales in other regions such as Europe, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia are not affected."

L&K Biomed is currently reviewing product supply through a strategic business agreement with a major U.S. distributor for three FDA-approved products.

A company official emphasized, "Sales of key items are possible, and a groundbreaking alternative product will soon appear in the market," adding, "The impact of the preliminary injunction decision is temporary and limited."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.