[Exclusive Interview] Jeon Seung-ho, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, "ITC Preliminary Ruling is Confusing... Will be Overturned in Final Decision"

Seung-ho Jeon, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyun-ui Cho] "The preliminary ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) was a chaotic decision. I am confident it will definitely be overturned in the final ruling in November."

Jeon Seung-ho, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, who is engaged in the 'Botox war' with Medytox over the source of the botulinum toxin strain, expressed confidence in the ITC final ruling during an interview with Asia Economy. This is the first time CEO Jeon has publicly shared his stance on the Botox controversy. When we met recently at Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s headquarters, he explained in detail the problems with the preliminary ruling, saying, "The final ruling will yield a different result from the preliminary ruling."

◆ "40% of Preliminary Rulings by Administrative Judges Are Overturned" = Earlier, on the 6th of last month (local time), the ITC judged that Daewoong Pharmaceutical had stolen Medytox’s strain. If this decision is upheld in the final ruling, Daewoong Pharmaceutical will be unable to export its botulinum toxin product 'Nabota' to the U.S. market for the next 10 years.

Since ITC final rulings are generally known to follow the preliminary rulings, Daewoong Pharmaceutical is indeed in a disadvantageous position. However, CEO Jeon said, "The probability that the decision of Administrative Law Judge David Shaw, who handled this ITC preliminary ruling, will be overturned in the final ruling is close to 40%."

He referred to the fact that 3 out of 8 preliminary decisions by Judge Shaw were overturned in the final rulings, and argued, "Judge Shaw often abused the ITC’s authority by issuing rulings beyond his jurisdiction." Since the ITC final ruling is decided by five commissioners, CEO Jeon claims that "Judge Shaw’s biased perspective will inevitably be corrected."

Above all, CEO Jeon explained that the 'trade secret theft' mentioned in the preliminary ruling conflicts with the ITC’s authority, and this contradiction will be revealed in the final ruling. He criticized, "The preliminary ruling that Allergan, Medytox’s U.S. partner, suffered trade secret infringement in this dispute over the strain source between Daewoong Pharmaceutical and Medytox is logically inconsistent," adding, "It is legally chaotic to claim that a U.S. company was harmed by the trade secrets of a foreign company."

◆ "Purpose of Protecting U.S. Industry... We Will Fight to the End" = CEO Jeon cited 'protection of domestic industry' as the reason behind the ITC preliminary ruling’s conclusion. He said, "Ultimately, it was to protect Allergan by tying the hands of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, its most threatening competitor," and pointed out, "Claiming infringement when no U.S. company’s trade secrets were violated is unprecedented in ITC history."

Daewoong Pharmaceutical has stated that if the desired outcome is not achieved in the ITC final ruling, it will prove its innocence through the remaining procedures. These remaining procedures include the U.S. President’s veto power over the ITC final ruling and a rehearing at the Court of Appeals. This means the lawsuit could extend beyond this year into next year, resulting in a prolonged process.

CEO Jeon also dismissed the possibility of a settlement with Medytox. He said, "If we were going to settle, it should have been done long ago, and above all, Medytox is excluded from the infringement targets in the ITC preliminary ruling," adding, "It is not Medytox but AbbVie, Allergan’s parent company, that holds the key to all decisions." He further noted, "The probability of a settlement with AbbVie is also low."

◆ "COVID-19 Treatment to Enter U.S. and Australia Markets" = Separately from the litigation in the U.S., Daewoong Pharmaceutical plans to target the Southeast Asian and Chinese markets with Nabota. Nabota, which received product approval in Taiwan last June, is scheduled to begin sales locally within this year. CEO Jeon said, "Nabota is the first domestic botulinum toxin product to receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)," and added, "We will strengthen our global presence."

CEO Jeon also expressed confidence in the three candidate substances for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment currently being developed by Daewoong Pharmaceutical. He said, "The most notable is niclosamide, an anthelmintic ingredient," and added, "We recently received approval for Phase 1 clinical trials in India and plan to enter the U.S. and Australian markets as well." He further stated, "One or two additional COVID-19 treatment candidates may be added in the future," and concluded, "Daewoong Pharmaceutical has a strong potential to become a champion in COVID-19 treatment."

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