Korean court favors Medytox in botox patent suit against Daewoong

The Seoul Central District Court had ruled that Medytox's patents for botulinum toxin (botox) strains and manufacturing process were stolen by Daewoong Pharmaceutical in developing Nabota.

Thus, the court prohibited Daewoong from manufacturing and selling its botox products, ordering that those that have already been produced should be discarded.

It also ordered Daewoong to pay 40 billion won in damages to Medytox, the first Korean company to succeed in mass-producing botox strains.

Medytox sued Daewoong in 2017, accusing it of stealing its botox strain and manufacturing process.

Daewoong claimed that it found its botox strain in a barn in Gyeonggi Province.

Medytox vowed to continue to protect its patent, while Daewoong said it would appeal the ruling.

The US International Trade Commission (USITC) had earlier ruled in favor of Medytox in December 2020 and ordered a 21-month import ban on Daewoong's products into the US. Daewoong also agreed to pay royalties to Medytox to settle the dispute shortly after the USITC decision.