On May 2, 2022, the ITC issued a Notice of Investigation in Certain Botulinum Toxin Products and Process for Manufacturing or Relating to Same (Inv. No. 337-TA-1313).
By way of background, this investigation is based on a March 30, 2022 complaint filed by Medytox Inc. of the Republic of Korea (“Medytox”) alleging violations of Section 337 by Respondents Hugel, Inc. of the Republic of Korea; Hugel America, Inc. of Irvine, California; and Croma Pharma GmbH of Austria in the unlawful sale/importation of certain botulinum neurotoxin drug products manufactured using a proprietary strain of Clostridium botulinum bacteria and related trade secrets owned by and stolen from Medytox. See our April 4, 2022 post for more details regarding the complaint.
According to the Notice, the Office of Unfair Import Investigations will participate as a party in the investigation. Further, Chief ALJ Clark S. Cheney issued a notice indicating that he will preside in the investigation.