Medytox stock rises after winning court battle against drug ministry

By Ko Dong-hwan

Medytox, Korea’s first botulinum toxin developer, enjoyed a rise in its stock value Friday after it won a legal battle against the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety over an allegation the company used unapproved substances to manufacture its product Meditoxin.

Medytox closed at 130,700 won ($90.14) on Korea's secondary Kosdaq market, up 5.69 percent from a day earlier.

The rise follows a Supreme Court ruling a day earlier that sided with the company in its Meditoxin battle.

The Supreme Court ruling upheld a high court decision to dismiss the ministry’s appeal that sought to ban the company’s manufacturing and sales of three Meditoxin products with different doses.

The ministry revoked its approval for the Meditoxin products in June 2020 and banned their manufacturing and sales, alleging that the company violated the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act by using substances not approved by the ministry and that it forged documents to cover the practice from 2012 to 2015.

Medytox responded promptly by filing an administrative lawsuit with the Daejeon District Court against the ministry, arguing that while there were changes in the manufacturing process, it only used substances that were approved by the authority.

The district court in November 2023 ruled in favor of the company and the Daejeon High Court in September last year dismissed the ministry’s appeal, agreeing with the lower court’s decision.

The Supreme Court said it has not been proven Medytox had used substances that were not approved by the ministry to manufacture the Meditoxin products.

The manufacturing and sales of the Meditoxin products have continued despite the legal battle, as the Daejeon High Court granted Medytox's request to suspend the sales ban in August 2020, and the Supreme Court upheld the decision in April 2021.