The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on Tuesday decided to accept a complaint from South Korean drugmaker Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. and conduct a second review over its primary ruling in favor of rival botulinum toxin maker Medytox Inc.

In its preliminary verdict in July, the ITC said Daewoong Pharm stole trade secrets on a botulinum toxin strain, advising that imports of Daewoong`s botox products should be banned in the U.S. in the next 10 years.

Botox is effective in treating facial wrinkles and various muscle spasms.

Daewoong Pharm filed a complaint with the ITC, arguing the primary ruling is a misjudged reasoning based on Medytox`s one-sided arguments and disputes over foreign trade secrets held by a foreign company are beyond the jurisdiction of the ITC.

Daewoong Pharm also argued trade secrets cannot be established since botox strains are readily available now as it was in the past.

Regarding the ITC’s complaint acceptance, Daewoong Pharma said it will actively be correcting the errors in the preliminary decision so that the final verdict can be reversed.

In contrast, Medytox argued that reviewing some of its preliminary ruling is a common procedure that occurs in the ITC litigation process and it would not affect the ITC’s final verdict.

The two drugmakers have been mired in multiple litigations in Korea and the U.S. over the past five years. Medytox has its own botox product called Meditoxin, which won South Korea`s first license in 2006, while Daewoong Pharm’s botox product Nabota received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2019.

The ITC’s final ruling is scheduled to be delivered on Nov. 6.

By Pulse

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