Mission Pharmacal successfully defends patent protecting prescription-only prenatal vitamin brands through 2020

SAN ANTONIO — Mission Pharmacal on Wednesday announced that a federal district court in Texas has upheld its patent that covers the company's prescription-only prenatal vitamin brands. "Mission Pharmacal has successfully asserted the dual-iron ('247) patent used in its popular CitraNatal family of prenatal vitamins, preserving Mission Pharmacal's high quality formulation pregnant women have counted on for years," stated Mission Pharmacal general counsel Lee Cusenbary.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas has entered a consent judgment against PureTek Corporation that requires it to stop manufacturing its RE OB+DHA and PNV OB+DHA products that infringe Mission Pharmacal's '247 patent. "The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office confirmed the validity of the '247 patent during a reexamination, and this ruling reconfirms that validity," Cusenbary said. The patent protects CitraNatal's use of a specific combination of iron that combats iron deficiency anemia before, during and after pregnancy.

"The dual-iron formulation used in these supplements helps pregnant women get the iron they need, yet it is gentle on the gastrointestinal system," commented Nancy Price, CitraNatal senior product manager. "The CitraNatal family of prenatal supplements provides optimal nutrition, which is essential for the health of moms and babies. CitraNatal's gentle-but-effective patented iron delivery system helps to keep moms more comfortable throughout pregnancy."

This is the second time Mission Pharmacal has successfully asserted this patent, Price noted. In 2010, another generic manufacturer agreed that it had violated the patent and took its product off the market.

This ruling preserves Mission Pharmacal's exclusive use of the formulation featured in the CitraNatal and Ferralet 90 products until 2020.