Medytox and Daewoong Pharmaceutical are showing little signs of a truce in their brawl over the botulinum toxin (BTX) strain even after an influential U.S. official seemed to raise the hand of Medytox lately.

After Medytox released a statement claiming that a staff attorney at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) recently said at a court that Daewoong had used Medytox's BTX strain, Daewoong wasted no time issuing a statement that contradicted Medytox's remarks on Thursday.

"A staff attorney reviews the evidence submitted during the ITC trial," Daewoong said. "During this process, the attorney submits an opinion, but the opinion is not that of the ITC and is only the opinion of an individual."

Therefore, the opinion has no legal restraint and has no impact on the ruling made by ITC judge, like those of the plaintiff and the defendant, the company added.

Daewoong also stressed that the ITC judge’s initial determination only serves as a recommendation for the committee that follows, which is the final decision-maker.

"Even if the ITC judge's initial determination doesn't favor Daewoong, there have been numerous cases where the final ruling from the committee was different from the judge's determination," the company added. "Therefore, it is too early to say what the final decision would be."

Also, the company claimed that the staff attorney's statement showed that there was a serious flaw in Medytox's claim that Daewoong’s Nabota is damaging the U.S. industry.

"One of the requirements of a U.S. ITC lawsuit is that there must be legal damage to the U.S. industry," the company said. "However, Medytox's Innotox is still in the clinical stage, so if the ITC determines that the treatment is not part of U.S. ITC jurisdiction standards, the lawsuit is likely to be dismissed."

The company went on to express its confidence that it is in favor of winning the ITC suit.

"To date, Daewoong has made clear that none of the Medytox's claims concerning the strain’s ownership, infringement on intellectual property, and industrial damage has been properly proven," the company said. "Daewoong confirmed DNA evidence during the ITC trial, demonstrating that Daewoong's strain was not derived from Medytox."

Daewoong also refuted Medytox's comments that they were approached by Evolus, its U.S. partner, with a settlement offer.

"Medytox first made the offer to Evolus, which, in turn, notified Daewoong as it was not a settlement they could make," the company said. "We immediately declined to reach any form of settlement."

Daewoong's claims, however, could not be validated by Evolus as the latter had announced on its website that it is the company's policy not to confirm or comment on settlement discussions.

The ITC is scheduled to make an initial ruling in June and a final decision in October. ㅈ

corea022@docdocdoc.co.kr

<© Korea Biomedical Review, All rights reserved.>