ITC Issues Notice of Commission Determination to Affirm the Final Initial Determination and to Terminate the Investigation into the Coenzyme Q10 Manufacturers and Their Distributors in China, Japan and the United States

Kaneka Corporation (headquarters: Osaka, Japan; President: Mr. Kimikazu Sugawara) announced today that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a Notice on November 29, 2012 and a Commission Opinion on December 6, 2012 to Affirm the Final Initial Determination and to Terminate its Investigation into a violation of 19 USC §1337 in the matter of Certain Coenzyme Q10 Products And Methods of Making Same. The Respondents and alleged infringers were Zhejiang Medicine Co. Ltd., ZMC-USA, LLC, Xiamen Kingdomway Group Company, Pacific Rainbow International, Inc, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc., Maypro Industries, Inc., and Shenzhou Biology & Technology Co., Ltd. (collectively “Respondents”)

In its Notice and Opinion the ITC affirmed the Final Initial Determination, which found that Kaneka’s US patent No. 7,910,340 (‘340 patent) was valid, but the evidence was insufficient to find infringement of the ‘340 patent by Respondents.

As Kaneka strongly disagreed with the Final Initial Determination, Kaneka will continue to proceed with pending infringement lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and for the Central District Court of California, in which the same companies named as Respondents in the ITC proceeding are alleged to have infringed Kaneka’s ‘340 patent.