Zeltiq secures injunction against doctor

Pleasanton, Calif. - Zeltiq Aesthetics has secured a permanent injunction against a Florida doctor accused of misrepresenting his services.

Zeltiq filed a suit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in October 2012 against Tampa, Fla., physician Marco Hallerbach, M.D., accusing the doctor of false advertising, false designation of origin, unfair competition, trademark infringement, and unfair and deceptive trade practices, according to a company statement.

According to the company, Dr. Hallerbach was offering a procedure he represented as CoolSculpting using cryolipolisis. Cryolipolisis is Zeltiq’s patented technology. It involves noninvasively cooling adipose tissue to induce lipolysis without damaging surrounding tissues using a device cleared by the Food and Drug Administration.

Dr. Hallerbach allegedly advertised this service to his patients and to area spas, Zeltiq claimed. The doctor had previously operated a “cosmetic medicine and weight management clinic,” and offered CoolSculpting services to various spas in the area, the company stated.

“These attempts to pass off the services as authentic CoolSculpting treatments have resulted in actual customer confusion and dissatisfaction with the sham procedure,” Zeltiq stated.

“Performing fraudulent procedures with copycat devices not cleared by the FDA compromises patient safety and can lead to serious injury,” said Sergio Garcia, senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Zeltiq, in the company statement.