SAN DIEGO – A federal judge has granted Siemens Medical Solution USA and Siemens Healthcare Diagnostic Inc.'s motion to amend its case in a suit over false advertising allegations.
On March 27, Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, awarded the Siemens defendants' request to modify the scheduling order and for leave to amend and denied plaintiff Quidel Corp.'s motion for partial judgment and its motion for leave to move to strike.
According to the ruling, Quidel manufactures a medication called Thyretain, which "detects thyroid-stimulating immunoglobins (TSI) and can differentiate TSI from other types of immunoglobins.”
The plaintiff asserts the medication is essential in the diagnosis of patients with Graves’ disease.
Quidel claims that Siemens has developed a product called Immulite that "does not differentiate between TSI and other immunoglobins, despite marketing to the contrary, and may lead to misdiagnoses of Graves’ disease," the ruling states.
Quidel filed its suit over allegations of false advertising, interference of prospective economic advantage, and unfair competition.
The Siemens defendants, which claim they are protected under an unclean hands defense, requested the scheduling modification to amend their argument under this doctrine. While Quidel had wanted to move forward with judgment immediately, the court found that each party had “engaged in extensive discovery, including depositions and numerous meet-and-confers,” the ruling states.
As a result of these updates, Moskowitz agreed to modify the scheduling order.