Second Circuit Upholds Injunction on Imported Glucose Test Strips

A federal appeals court has upheld an injunction against wholesalers’ U.S. sales of Abbott Laboratories’ “FreeStyle” blood glucose test strips that were bought overseas at discount prices.

Abbott Laboratories claimed that the defendants illegally imported the test strips that Abbott had sold overseas, repackaged them and sold them in competition with the Abbott product. Abbott sells the test strips at lower prices overseas than it does in the U.S. market.

“We find no abuse of discretion in the district court’s thorough and well-reasoned order,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said.

H&H Wholesale Services, Matrix Distributors and others had appealed a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York granting Abbott’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon agreed with Abbott and granted the injunction. H&H and Matrix appealed, arguing that the district court abused its discretion in finding that Abbott was likely to succeed on the merits of
its claims.

In addition, both H&H and Matrix argued that the district court abused its discretion in finding a likelihood of irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief. The Second Circuit disagreed.

Read the Second Circuit’s order here: www.fdanews.com/11-04-16-SecondCircuit.pdf. — Jeff Kinney