Elysium's troubles multiplied today when chemical manufacturer W.R. Grace sued Elysium for patent infringement in Delaware.
Grace manufacturers Niagen for ChromaDex, and has patents relating to the manufacture of nicotinamide riboside. You can read the complaint here:
Grace is asserting three patents: Patent No. 10,233,207 (“the ’207 Patent”), U.S. Patent No. 10,323,058 (“the ’058 Patent”); and U.S. Patent No. 10,189,872 (“the ’872 Patent”), all governing a crystalline form of nicotinamide riboside. All three patents were issued in 2019.
The complaint includes claims for direct, induced, contributory, and willful infringement with respect to each of the three patents, as well as infringement of Grace's provisional rights in all three patents. Provisional patent rights allow a patent owner to seek damages for patent infringement for activities occurring between publication of a patent application and issuance of the patent. Grace asks the court to award royalties, lost profits, a permanent injunction, enhanced damages for willful infringement, and attorney fees.
It's worth noting that the law firm Grace has hired for the litigation, "Venable," is a top-notch, powerful firm, one of the 100 largest in America. The Venable counsel on the case, Daniel O'Brien, also has extensive experience with bankruptcy and creditor rights. Who knows if that will come in handy?