Biopool Blames Legal Costs for Earnings Drop

Legal expenses are expected to bite deeply into fourth-quarter earnings of Biopool International Inc., a Ventura producer of medical test kits.

Michael D. Bick, the company’s chairman and chief executive, said expenses for previously reported litigation with Medical Analysis Systems Inc. in Camarillo may cause flat profits in the final three months of the year. The companies are involved in a dispute over licensing rights.

Biopool blamed its legal costs for a loss of $2,000 on sales of $1.7 million in the three months ended Sept. 30. A year earlier, the company had a profit of $159,000, or 2 cents a share, on sales of $1.4 million.