Kolon Life Science Director Denies Charges in 'Invossa Scandal': "I Didn't Deceive Knowingly"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] A director of Kolon Life Science, who was indicted in connection with the gene therapy osteoarthritis drug Invossa-K injection (Invossa) scandal, denied the charges at the first trial.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25 (Presiding Judge Song In-kwon) held the first preparatory hearing on the 10th for Cho Mo (47), a director of Kolon Life Science, who is accused of obstruction of official duties by deception, fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and violation of the Subsidy Act. Cho was in charge of clinical development at Kolon Life Science.

Cho’s side stated that they deny all the charges. The defense attorney said, "There was a scientific mistake in mistakenly believing that the Invossa cell component was kidney-derived cells, but there was no intent to deceive knowing the cells were different," adding, "There is no problem with the safety and efficacy of the new drug, no motive to obstruct the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), and it is impossible to do so."

Cho is accused of submitting false data regarding the components of Invossa to obtain approval from the MFDS. Through the false data, the company was selected as a government global advanced biopharmaceutical technology development project participant in October 2015 and received subsidies amounting to 8.2 billion KRW over three years. Invossa is a gene therapy injection for osteoarthritis and was the first gene therapy drug approved by the MFDS in Korea in 2017. However, the approval was revoked in July last year after it was revealed that the included cells were kidney cells that could cause tumors, not the cartilage cells stated in the data submitted at the time of approval.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.