Neogen Founder Files Defamation Suit

A businessman whose company won the right to sell a highly controversial abortion drug in the U.S. filed suit against the company that made his role public. The suit, filed by Joseph Pike in San Diego County Superior Court, accuses Giant Group Ltd. of defamation and of exposing him and his family to threats from anti-abortion groups. In his suit, Pike contends he and NeoGen Industries Inc., the San Diego-based company he helped found in 1995, have the right to participate in marketing and distributing RU-486 in the U.S. once it is approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Until then, it had planned to keep its identity quiet. That effort was stymied when Anaheim-based Giant filed a suit two weeks ago against NeoGen accusing the company of trying to back out of an agreement involving a stake in the drug’s distribution. Giant said Pike’s countersuit doesn’t concern it.