'Botox Fate Day' Approaching in One Month, Who Will Be the Final Winner?

Summary Excerpt of ITC Posting on Partial Reexamination of Daewoong Pharmaceutical's Objection

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The final decision in the 'Botulinum Toxin War' between Medytox and Daewoong Pharmaceutical, which has been ongoing for five years, is just one month away.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled in favor of Medytox in its preliminary decision last July. However, attention is now focused on the final outcome as the ITC decided to review the objections raised by Daewoong Pharmaceutical at the end of last month.

According to industry sources on the 3rd, the ITC will conduct a full review of the preliminary decision made by the administrative law judge and issue a final ruling on November 6.

Since 2016, the two companies have been engaged in a dispute over the origin of the botulinum bacterial strain used as the raw material for botulinum toxin preparations, commonly known as 'Botox.' Medytox has claimed that Daewoong Pharmaceutical stole its botulinum bacterial strain, while Daewoong Pharmaceutical has firmly denied this, asserting that it uses a different strain.

With the ITC's preliminary ruling in July stating that "Daewoong Pharmaceutical infringed on trade secrets," Medytox gained the upper hand. The ITC recommended a 10-year import ban on Daewoong Pharmaceutical's botulinum toxin product, 'Nabota,' as part of this preliminary decision.

However, on the 22nd of last month, the ITC accepted Daewoong Pharmaceutical's objections regarding the preliminary ruling and decided to conduct a reexamination. Daewoong Pharmaceutical had raised objections concerning the ITC's jurisdiction and Allergan's standing as a party, questioning whether the requirements were met.

The two companies have shown contrasting reactions to the ITC's acceptance of Daewoong Pharmaceutical's objections.

A Daewoong Pharmaceutical representative said, "We are pleased that the ITC agreed to review the erroneous preliminary decision," adding, "We will correct the errors in the preliminary ruling and surely win in the final decision."

On the other hand, a Medytox representative stated, "The ITC's partial review of the preliminary ruling is a routine and common procedure in the ITC litigation process," and "It is very rare for the preliminary ruling to change as a result."

The ITC will issue a final decision that may overturn, modify, or uphold the entire or part of the preliminary ruling, which will then be finalized through the President's approval or veto.

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