Celltrion Wins Partial Victory in Humasis COVID-19 Diagnostic Kit Lawsuit

Humasis's Delivery Delays Recognized

Celltrion achieved a partial victory in the first trial of its lawsuit against Humasis regarding COVID-19 diagnostic kits, as the court recognized Humasis's delay in delivery. However, the court also ruled that Celltrion must pay for goods that were not paid for after the contract was terminated, resulting in Celltrion bearing a net debt of approximately 8.8 billion won.

On July 3, the Anyang Branch of the Suwon District Court delivered a partial ruling in favor of Celltrion in its damages claim lawsuit against Humasis. The court acknowledged that Celltrion suffered damages due to Humasis's delayed delivery, ordering Humasis to pay 3,887,760,000 won in delay penalties and other compensation.

However, the court determined that Celltrion is responsible for paying approximately 12.7 billion won for goods that were not paid for following the contract termination. As a result, Celltrion is left with a net debt of about 8.8 billion won.

Celltrion and Humasis began their collaboration in June 2020 by signing a "joint research and product supply agreement" to develop, commercialize, and supply COVID-19 antigen rapid diagnostic kits. However, from the second half of 2021, Humasis repeatedly failed to meet delivery deadlines for orders placed by Celltrion for the U.S. market, straining their partnership. On December 26, 2022, Celltrion notified Humasis of the contract termination and stated that all individual contracts not yet fulfilled had lost their validity.

On this day, Celltrion stated in a press release, "The court recognized the damages we suffered due to Humasis's delayed delivery and ordered Humasis to pay us 3,887,760,000 won in delay penalties and other compensation. This ruling acknowledges that Humasis indeed delayed supply and that we suffered actual damages as a result."

The company added, "However, the court also ruled that we must pay approximately 12,710,720,000 won to Humasis. As a result, we are left with a net debt of about 8,229,600,000 won. We find this ruling regrettable, as it appears to be based on the social perception that 'large corporations are strong and small and medium-sized enterprises are weak,' rather than a careful consideration of the market situation during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Celltrion further stated, "Although the court recognized the supply delay as one of the grounds for contract termination and significantly limited our obligation to pay for goods, it did not acknowledge our contract termination due to the supply delay, which is contradictory. Since the court recognized Humasis's supply delays, we plan to fully and thoroughly explain through an appeal the circumstances that compelled us to terminate the contract."

Meanwhile, Celltrion and Humasis are currently involved in two lawsuits related to their COVID-19 diagnostic kit joint business. These lawsuits consist of Humasis's claims against Celltrion for payment for goods and damages, and Celltrion's claims against Humasis for damages due to delayed delivery and for the return of advance payments.

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