Prosecutors Investigate Daewoong Pharmaceutical for Technology Leak Suspicion... Search and Seizure at Headquarters and Factory

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yuri] Prosecutors have launched a full-scale investigation into allegations that Daewoong Pharmaceutical stole the botulinum strain technology, which is the raw material for 'Botox' injections, from a competing company.

According to the legal community on the 29th, the Criminal Division 12 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Deok-jin) conducted a search and seizure on the 26th at Daewoong Pharmaceutical's headquarters in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, as well as its research center in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province, and factory in Hwaseong-si.

The pharmaceutical company Medytox filed a complaint in 2017, claiming that Daewoong Pharmaceutical stole the botulinum strain technology it developed and then announced it as if it had been developed independently at its research center.

Prosecutors are reportedly investigating whether Mr. A, who was a researcher at Medytox from 2004 to 2009, signed a consulting contract with Daewoong Pharmaceutical after leaving and released a similar product. Medytox launched the Botox product 'Medytoxine' in 2006, and Daewoong Pharmaceutical released 'Nabota' in 2014.

The dispute between the two companies extended to the United States. In December last year, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Daewoong Pharmaceutical infringed on Medytox's trade secrets related to the botulinum strain manufacturing process and issued a 21-month import ban order. Both companies appealed this decision, but the dispute at the ITC was resolved in February this year through a settlement.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical is also under investigation by prosecutors for allegations of abusing patent infringement lawsuits to obstruct the sales of a competitor's products. This case, reported by the Korea Fair Trade Commission in March, is being investigated by the Fair Trade Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

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