NEW YORK ─ Point-of-care test developer Chembio Diagnostics said Monday that its subsidiary Chembio Diagnostic Systems has been awarded $2.7 million in a dispute over HIV self-tests with one of its former distributors, BioSure UK.
The award consisted of $1 million for damages and $1.7 million for costs and attorneys' fees, Hauppauge, New York-based Chembio said.
The dispute stems from a distribution agreement the companies entered into in April 2014 under which BioSure was granted a license to sell bundled Chembio Sure Check HIV 1/2 self-tests in the UK.
Last Thursday, the International Arbitration Tribunal of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution in New York held that BioSure, among other things, misappropriated Chembio's trade secrets, the firm said in a statement.
The tribunal also concluded that "BioSure's HIV self-test is substantially based upon and incorporates Chembio confidential information in material breach of the distribution agreement," Chembio said.
Among other requirements, BioSure was also ordered to immediately stop making, using, offering for sale, or selling the BioSure HIV Self Test, Chembio added.
In September 2019, Chembio initiated arbitration related to the distribution agreement, which ended in April 2019. The international tribunal held its final merits hearing in April this year.