[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Medytox has effectively won the first trial after filing a civil lawsuit claiming that Daewoong Pharmaceutical "stole the botulinum toxin strain."
On the afternoon of the 10th, the Civil Division 61 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kwon Oseok) ruled in favor of Medytox in part in the first trial of a lawsuit seeking to prohibit trade secret infringement worth about 50 billion won against Daewoong Pharmaceutical, stating "It is difficult to deny the identity of the strains between Medytox and Daewoong Pharmaceutical."
The court stated, "Daewoong Pharmaceutical must pay Medytox 40 billion won." Additionally, Daewoong Pharmaceutical was ordered to hand over the botulinum strain to Medytox and dispose of the finished products. It was also prohibited from using the related manufacturing technology.
The court said, "Phylogenetic analysis results show that the strains of both parties are closely related," and "There is circumstantial evidence recognizing that Daewoong Pharmaceutical's strain originated from Medytox's strain." It also pointed out that "Daewoong Pharmaceutical obtained the sequence arrangement information of Medytox's individual process steps and shortened the development period by three months."
Botulinum preparations are biopharmaceuticals mainly used in cosmetic procedures such as glabellar wrinkle improvement. In 2017, Medytox filed a lawsuit suspecting Daewoong Pharmaceutical of strain theft.
Medytox also filed a complaint against Daewoong Pharmaceutical with the prosecution, but the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office dismissed the case due to "lack of evidence."
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