EXHIBIT 99.1
KV PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY
CONTACT:
CATHERINE M. BIFFIGNANI
VICE PRESIDENT, INVESTOR RELATIONS
314-645-6600
[KV PHARMACEUTICAL logo]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COURT ORDERS LANNETT TO NOTIFY DISTRIBUTORS ITS PACKAGING
VIOLATES PRIMACARE ONE(R) TRADEMARK RIGHTS
Decision Affirms KV's Intellectual Property Rights
at Early Stage of Infringement Case
St. Louis, MO - July 23, 2008 - KV Pharmaceutical Company (NYSE: KVa/KVb),
today announced a favorable court decision related to litigation brought by KV
against Lannett Company, Inc. for infringement of KV's PrimaCare ONE(R)
trademark and for patent infringement.
On July 17, 2008, the United States District Court for the District of
Delaware issued an order requiring Lannett to contact its distributors in
writing and advise them of the Court's ruling that the bottles of Lannett's
prenatal vitamin that Lannett shipped to them infringe KV's PrimaCare ONE(R)
trademark. The Court has also ordered Lannett to provide its distributors with
material adequate to cover KV's PrimaCare ONE(R) trademark on each bottle of
Lannett's prenatal vitamins.
These developments follow a hearing on June 25, 2008, at which the Court
instructed Lannett to develop new packaging to avoid the issuance of a
restraining order. During the hearing, Lannett agreed not to distribute any
more bottles of its prenatal vitamin until the infringing label had been
corrected. The Court agreed at the hearing to an expedited trial on the other
claims in KV's suit that relate to Lannett infringing KV's patents. This trial
is expected to take place as early as January 2009.
"We are pleased with this decision," stated Marc S. Hermelin, KV's Chairman of
the Board and Chief Executive Officer. "We are committed to protecting the
integrity of our products and brands, and will continue to aggressively defend
the PrimaCare ONE(R) trademark and patents. We strive to meet the needs of
patients we serve with innovative, cost-effective, quality products, and this
commitment requires an investment in innovation that our nation's patent laws
serve to protect."
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ABOUT KV PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY
KV Pharmaceutical Company is a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical
company that develops, manufactures, markets and acquires
technology-distinguished branded and generic/non-branded prescription
pharmaceutical products. The Company markets its technology-distinguished
products through ETHEX Corporation, a national leader in pharmaceuticals that
compete with branded products, and Ther-Rx Corporation, its branded
prescription pharmaceutical subsidiary.
For further information about KV Pharmaceutical Company, please visit the
Company's corporate website at www.kvpharmaceutical.com.
SAFE HARBOR
The information in this release may contain various forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995 ("PSLRA") and which may be based on or include assumptions
concerning KV's operations, future results and prospects. Such statements may
be identified by the use of words like "plans", "expect", "aim", "believe",
"projects", "anticipates", "commit", "intend", "estimate", "will", "should",
"could" and other expressions that indicate future events and trends.
All statements that address expectations or projections about the future,
including without limitation, statements about the launch or commercial sale
of Lannett's prenatal vitamin product, actions by the court in the litigation
with Lannett, or the Company's strategy for growth, product development,
product launches, regulatory filings or approvals, market position, market
share increases, acquisitions, revenues, expenditures and other financial
results, are forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and are
subject to risk and uncertainties. In connection with the "safe harbor"
provisions, KV provides the following cautionary statements identifying
important economic, competitive, judicial, political and technology factors,
which among others, could cause actual results or events to differ materially
from those set forth or implied by the forward-looking statements and related
assumptions.
Such factors include (but are not limited to) the following: (1) changes in
the current and future business environment, including interest rates and
capital and consumer spending; (2) the difficulty of predicting FDA approvals,
including timing, and that any period of exclusivity may not be realized; (3)
acceptance and demand for new pharmaceutical products; (4) the impact of
competitive products and pricing, including as a result of so-called
authorized-generic drugs; (5) new product development and launch, including
the possibility that any product launch may be delayed or that product
acceptance may be less than anticipated; (6) reliance on key strategic
alliances; (7) the availability of raw materials and/or products manufactured
for the Company under contract manufacturing arrangements with third parties;
(8) the regulatory environment, including regulatory agency and judicial
actions and changes in applicable law or regulations; (9) fluctuations in
revenues; (10) the difficulty of predicting international regulatory approval,
including timing; (11) the difficulty of predicting the pattern of inventory
movements by the Company's customers; (12) the impact of competitive response
to the Company's sales,
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marketing and strategic efforts; (13) risks that the Company may not
ultimately prevail in litigation, including challenges to our intellectual
property rights by actual or potential competitors; (14) actions by the
Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service with
respect to the Company's stock option grants and accounting practices; (15)
the Company's success in litigation with Lannett Company Inc. concerning its
prenatal vitamin product; and (16) the risks detailed from time-to-time in the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
This discussion is by no means exhaustive, but is designed to highlight
important factors that may impact the Company's outlook. We are under no
obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of
this release.
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