Hugel is showing a strong gain of over 8% in early trading following news of its victory in the preliminary ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).
As of 9:19 a.m. on the 11th, Hugel recorded 232,000 won, up 19,000 won (8.92%) from the previous day.
On the 10th (local time), the U.S. ITC ruled that there was no violation of Hugel's intellectual property rights regarding the complaint filed by Medytox, which alleged that Hugel had stolen its trade secrets related to botulinum toxin products produced by Hugel. The ITC stated, "The final preliminary determination confirmed that there was no violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act in the importation into the U.S. of certain botulinum toxin products and related manufacturing processes." Section 337 of the U.S. Tariff Act restricts unfair imports that infringe on intellectual property rights such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights. Accordingly, the patent dispute between Medytox and Hugel, which has lasted for over three years since 2022, has tilted in favor of Hugel. However, this decision is a preliminary ruling, and a final judgment is expected in October.
Hugel established Hugel America in 2018 and has been advancing into the U.S. market, including applying for FDA approval of its botulinum toxin product Botulax (export name Retivox) in October 2022. However, Medytox filed a complaint with the ITC against Hugel, claiming that Hugel's botulinum toxin was made by stealing its Hyper Hall A strain and that Hugel was attempting to export it to the U.S.
Jonghyun Park, a researcher at Daol Investment & Securities, said, "With Hugel securing a win at the ITC, uncertainties regarding its North American business will be resolved," adding, "Reflecting the value of the North American business, we are raising the target stock price from the previous 270,000 won to 350,000 won."
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