RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CALIF. — The US District Court for the Central District of California in Santa Ana on May 24 ruled in favor of SweeGen, Inc. over PureCircle USA, Inc. in a patent lawsuit involving Rebaudioside M, a steviol glycoside inside the stevia leaf that closely resembles the sweetness of sugar.
“Today’s judgment vindicates Sweegen and affirms the company’s position as an industry leader in innovative sweetener solutions,” said Steven Chen, chief executive officer of Sweegen.
Chicago-based PureCircle, which was acquired by Ingredion, Inc. in 2020, had filed the lawsuit against SweeGen in September 2018. As part of the lawsuit, PureCircle had accused SweeGen of infringing on two patents covering the manufacture of Reb M.
The patent, US Patent No. 9,243,273, involves the conversion of Rebaudioside D to Rebaudioside X, also known as Rebaudioside M, by using an enzyme called UDP-glucosyltransferase. The technology…
