Solae sues ADM

Just a few months old, the recently formed alliance between US agribusiness giant Bunge and DuPont Protein Technologies - Solae - has already filed a complaint with a court in the US claiming that the companies Archer Daniels Midland and Amerifit Nutrition have infringed certain patent rights.

Solae was launched​ at the beginning of the year, touting itself as 'one of the world's premier developers and marketers of branded, plant-based, speciality food, feed, and industrial ingredients.'​ But this week the company claims that ADM's Novasoy isoflavone products and the Estroven health supplement products marketed by Amerifit are close to the edge.

"The Solae company has spent many years investing in soy isoflavone concentrates and will aggressively defend its associated intellectual property portfolio when it is threatened,"​ said Tony Arnold, CEO of the Solae company in a statement on Wednesday.

"Our soy isoflavone patents are an extremely valuable corporate asset, and this suit reflects our determination to protect that value,"​ he continued. Adding that recent products launched on the marketplace by the company reflect more than a decade of substantial scientific research.

Officials from Archer Daniels Midland, Decatur, and Amerifit, Bloomfield, were not immediately available to comment on the lawsuit, which was filed in the District Court of Eastern Missouri.