Gordonsville, Va., Jan. 10 - Store-brand infant formula company PBM Products, LLC, has filed a formal response to a lawsuit filed by Mead Johnson & Co., a division of Bristol-Myers Squibb and maker of Enfamil(R) LIPIL(R) Infant Formula. PBM's Answer and Affirmative Defenses, filed in Indianapolis on January 4 at the United States District Court, Southern Indiana District, denies all allegations of trade dress infringement, false designation of origin, and unfair competition related to the PBM- introduction of Member's Mark(R) Infant Formula. Member's Mark is a less expensive alternative to Enfamil LIPIL and is impacting sales of the national brand at SAM'S CLUB(R) locations nationwide.
In 2005, PBM partnered with SAM'S CLUB, a division of Wal-Mart(R) Stores, Inc., to launch Member's Mark Infant Formula, a store-brand formula that offers the same high quality and level of listed nutrients as Enfamil LIPIL. This includes the same levels of the lipids DHA and ARA, nutrients found naturally in mother's milk that support infant mental and visual development.
In the defense filing, PBM states the real reason why Mead Johnson's national brand Enfamil LIPIL is losing sales to the lower-priced Member's Mark Infant Formula:
* "Mead's claims are barred in whole or in part by its own conduct. Mead's claims against Defendants [PBM] do not arise from any wrongful or actionable conduct on the part of Defendants, but rather arise as a result of Mead's pricing decisions and Mead's relations with its retailers."
* "To the extent Mead has suffered a "significant downturn in sales," any such downturn was caused wholly, or in substantial part, by Mead's failure and/or refusal to price its product competitively with other comparable nutritionally equivalent products in the marketplace, such as Defendants' infant formula."
"It's clear that parents who shop at SAM's CLUB stores recognize a good deal on infant formula when they read the nutritional information on labels and compare pricing," said Paul B. Manning, CEO of PBM Products. "Moms and dads realize that, given the federal regulations that govern infant nutrition, price, and not brand, is what really matters when it comes to buying baby formula."
All infant formulas in the United States are required to be manufactured in accordance with, and meet the nutritional requirements of, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for infant formula under the regulation of the FDA.* This includes national brand infant formulas and store-brand infant formulas labeled with the names of different retailers. The regulations are designed to ensure that all infant formulas in the United States provide those nutrients that have been deemed essential to a baby's first year.
Member's Mark Infant Formula is manufactured by PBM Nutritionals and distributed by PBM Products, the same trusted facility and company that have been manufacturing and distributing Parent's Choice(R) Infant Formula for Wal- Mart for the past eight years. PBM's factory in Georgia, Vermont, has been manufacturing powder infant formulas for more than 20 years.