While intervention by the USITC is welcomed by many who hope that it will put a stop to the ‘botox war’ between the two companies, there are concerns that it may take a toll on the reputation of Korean-made botulinum toxins.
(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, May 20 (Korea Bizwire) — As the ‘war on botox strains’ is escalating between Medytox Inc. and Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., the tension between the two companies is becoming worse day by day.
Medytox has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), accusing Daewoong of stealing the company’s botox strains.
Daewoong has since been ordered by the USITC to submit the botox strain contained in Nabota, a botulinum toxin manufactured by Daewoong, to an expert appointed by Medytox.
The due date for submission was May 15, and it is now being delayed.
The two companies, asked by the USITC to commence with the ‘discovery’ phase where they request materials and information from each other to prove their cases, have only been providing lopsided explanations to the public, exacerbating the dispute.
Daewoong, after being ordered to submit the Nabota strains to a Medytox-selected expert, argued that Medydox also needs to provide its botox strains to an expert appointed by them since the ‘discovery’ phase applies to both parties in the dispute.
Medytox retorted that the USITC has specifically ordered Daewoong to submit the botox strains contained in Nabota.
While intervention by the USITC is welcomed by many who hope that it will put a stop to the ‘botox war’ between the two companies, there are concerns that it may take a toll on the reputation of Korean-made botulinum toxins.
“Many people are expecting that the intervention will end this long and tedious fight between the two companies,” said a source familiar with the industry.
“We are hoping that it will have no impact on the reputation of our biomedicines.”
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
