Daewoong Pharmaceutical Submits Additional Rebuttal to US ITC Preliminary Determination

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Daewoong Pharmaceutical has submitted a rebuttal brief regarding the preliminary ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in July, which favored Medytox. Daewoong Pharmaceutical and Medytox are in conflict over the origin of the botulinum bacterial strain used as the raw material for botulinum toxin preparations, commonly known as 'Botox.'

Daewoong Pharmaceutical announced on the 30th that it submitted a request for reconsideration of the ITC's preliminary decision on the 9th, and a rebuttal brief to the plaintiff and the ITC Office of Unfair Import Investigations (OUII) on the 16th to the ITC commission. The brief was disclosed the previous day (local time).

In the brief, Daewoong Pharmaceutical emphasized, "We have never stolen Medytox's trade secrets," and stated, "Medytox failed to prove the relevant facts, and the administrative law judge made an incorrect judgment based solely on the testimony of experts hired by the plaintiff."

The company also presented opposing opinions on the ITC preliminary ruling by citing views from U.S. experts. Daewoong Pharmaceutical argued, "It is not difficult to obtain bacterial strains commercially usable for producing botulinum toxin preparations," and "Medytox's strain and technology cannot be considered trade secrets."

Additionally, Daewoong Pharmaceutical rebutted the opinion submitted by the ITC Staff Attorney regarding the ITC's decision to review the preliminary ruling. Recently, the ITC Office of Unfair Import Investigations (OUII) submitted an opinion supporting the existing preliminary ruling that Daewoong Pharmaceutical had misappropriated Medytox's trade secrets.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical claimed, "The opinion merely repeated previous assertions without new content or evidence," and "It unilaterally supports only the plaintiff's claims, resulting in an erroneous preliminary ruling."

The final ruling will be made on the 19th of next month (local time). Daewoong Pharmaceutical stated, "We will correct the errors in the preliminary decision and ensure victory in the final decision."