Allergan Inc. (AGN), the maker of Botox injections for frown lines, won a court order blocking Merz Pharma GmbH from selling a rival cosmetic product after Allergan claimed its trade secrets were stolen. U.S. District Judge Andrew J. Guilford in Santa Ana, California, yesterday issued an injunction against Merz following a trial without a jury.

Guilford cited “dramatic examples of misappropriation” of Allergan’s proprietary information, saying he was troubled that some Allergan employees signed contracts with Merz and then delayed giving final notice to begin e-mailing company data to themselves.
Source: bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-07/allergan-wins-court-ruling-
blocking-merz-s-botox-competitor-1-.html

It looks like Merz was hiring some Allergan employees to market its new Botox competitor and the judge slapped Merz with an injunction. Botox is a big money maker for Allergan so squashing competitive products is a big win for them.

You don’t really need to steal Allergan’s reps or marketing information to sell a good competitive product though. Just market to plastic surgeons and dermatologists at a lower price point and it would have all happened by itself.

Best Regards,

John Di Saia MD