OrthoAccel Technologies, Inc. (the makers of AcceleDent) has decided to attack individual orthodontists in their offices, in front of patients by serving them with court documents threatening action if they do not stop using a competitor’s product. This is a heinous act on many levels and a very dangerous precedent. If a well funded corporation can attack individual orthodontists for using a legally obtained product then all of us are at risk. Orthodontists must stand together to protect every individual. Otherwise, IT COULD BE YOU!
Sign the petition and make it clear that we will not tolerate such behavior.
OrthoAccel CEO Mike Lowe’s response: On behalf of all of us at OrthoAccel Technologies, I felt it important to address recent misinformation about our company that has been shared and distributed online.
We regret it if any orthodontists or industry professionals have the impression that we are getting between them and their suppliers. We are not. Any claims otherwise, like the ones on this post, are patently false. I have reached out personally to dozens of doctors to put this rumor to bed.
We are pursuing this action to protect the reputation and credibility of our company and this industry. You and your patients deserve to be confident that your partners are adhering to the highest industry standards.
The fact is, our legal dispute is with a competitor who disobeyed legal statutes and made advertising and marketing claims about patient benefits that are not backed by proven clinical evidence. These unsupported claims are documented and include such language as, “bone growth,” and, “better retention.” We are deeply concerned that good practitioners believe these highly unethical sales claims.
In the course of defending our business and pressing this legitimate case, we are obliged to do two things: 1) address the competitor’s false advertisements, and 2) prove the effects of their false advertising. The legal precedent in this area is very well established. It was the highly unethical tactics used by this competitor that drew a few doctors into this case. We welcome fair competition over litigation any day.
A single doctor claimed to be disturbed by a process server carrying out his legal duties. If we could e-mail a subpoena, we would gladly do so. But, the law requires that the specified recipient be presented in person. The service was for a request to produce documents, nothing more. This process is normally no more disruptive than a FedEx delivery. This instance aside, we have no reason to believe, or any evidence that shows, that the highly professional process server was anything but courteous, discreet, and efficient.
Importantly, the competitor uses the same legal tools.
OrthoAccel is a small business with a highly innovative product. We have always operated according to the highest ethical principles demanded by the orthodontic community. These principles are why we cannot stand by while a competitor deceived the professional community and promoted its product as an FDA-registered or FDA-cleared medical device for several months in early 2016.
To be clear, it was neither registered nor cleared during this period. This example, along with other patterns of ignoring legal statutes as well as ethical and clinical standards of our industry, are why, based on advice from legal counsel, we felt we had no option but to take action.
Our products are supported by strong clinical evidence that we have always made publicly available. For example, we submitted to a rigorous 510(k) review, in order to demonstrate safety and efficacy, and obtained clearance from the FDA to market and sell AcceleDent as a Class II medical device.
We invite you to review our substantial portfolio of clinical evidence here: acceledent.com/orthodontists/clinical-resources/ And patient cases here: acceledent.com/orthodontists/case-studies/
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Michael K. Lowe
CEO, OrthoAccel Technologies, Inc.
Thanks for responding. So you’re saying you never threatened any doctors? You’re saying they didn’t receive any threatening documents? Aren’t you playing fast and loose with the definitions here? Just because something wasn’t officially registered doesn’t mean you didn’t intend to scare the hell out of orthodontists. Seeing as how I’ve talked to you on multiple occasions since your tactics first came to light and seeing as I emailed you yesterday, saying I would be happy to set up a town hall or webinar where you can field specific questions in front of a large group of orthodontists I find it odd that you post this here instead of responding. I’m still waiting to hear back from you about this proposal to have an open forum where orthodontists can ask direct questions and everyone can hear your answers at the same time. Also, I take it that you are threatening those of us who wrote and signed the petition now with your comments here by saying “We are pursuing this action to protect the reputation and credibility of our company and this industry”? Nice.
I find this odd that you would take this stance. We are in no way trying to hurt your company. We are trying to protect individual orthodontists from being caught up in a corporate dispute. Feel free to call or email me to set up the town hall or some other public forum – you have my cell and my email address.
ben
Thank you for your response. I regret that some doctors practices were disturbed. That was never my intention, or the intention of any of the good people here at OrthoAccel. Our attorneys served doctors in their practices because those are the addresses they had and they knew they could find them there. I wish I was aware of this beforehand, because I would have insisted any of these necessary interactions happen away from offices and patients. I will fully address this in a webinar next week. We’ll send out more information on that soon.
Thanks,
Mike Lowe