French court reduces biotech firm’s damages in Iranian distribution case
In a legal battle between GITI TAJHIZ TEB CO, an Iranian medical equipment distributor, and BIO-RAD, a French subsidiary of BIO-RAD Laboratories, the Paris Court of Appeal ruled February 25, 2015 that BIO-RAD breached its contract by halting deliveries to the Iranian company. The dispute centered on contracts signed in 2009 and 2010, which granted GITI exclusive rights to distribute BIO-RAD’s medical diagnostic products in Iran.
The court heard that BIO-RAD stopped fulfilling the contracts in 2010, citing U.S. sanctions against Iran, which prohibited the parent company from conducting business with Iranian entities. GITI sought €21.3 million in damages, claiming lost profits, reputational harm, and additional penalties tied to the disruption in deliveries.
While the court agreed that BIO-RAD had violated its contractual obligations, it recognized the company’s dilemma under conflicting international regulations. As a result, the court reduced the damages to €300,000, significantly less than the amount initially sought by GITI. The court rejected GITI’s claims for reputational damage and additional financial penalties, focusing instead on the lost profits from its contracts with the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization.
Giti Tajhiz Teb Co. Overview
Giti Tajhiz Teb (GTT) was founded in 2009 to import “lab and medical equipment,” according to its articles of incorporation. The company does not have a website; its only online presence is an Instagram page which claims the firm is the representative for Bio-Rad in Iran and advertises Elisa Test kits and machinery.
A review of publicly available business records and media confirms links to Iran’s Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO), linked to the health ministry. The IBTO is a government-run organization that is managed by Iran’s health ministry. It is Iran’s sole authority in the supply and distribution of blood products. The IBTO is mentioned as GTT’s client in the French court documents.
The owners of GTT also own Faravar Azma Iranian (FAI) which was also founded in 2009 with the aim of “Manufacturing, designing, installation, and implementation of all medical and laboratory equipment, and providing the necessary human resources for the company,” according to its website.
FAI’s YouTube channel features several videos from 2018 where Fardavar inaugurated what was deemed the “biggest factory producer of blood bags in Western Asia,” in partnership with a French company, Macopharma. The factory was named Macopharmafardavar and the inauguration ceremony was attended by the then-health minister Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, the then head of the IBTO Ali Akbar Pourfathollah, who has a personal connection to Haj Maghani on Facebook.