Hugel Inc., a leading global medical aesthetics company, announced that the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) for its U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) investigation issued the final determination on October 10 (local time) that "there is no violation of Section 337" based on Medytox's allegation of unfair practices concerning the importation of certain botulinum neurotoxin (BTX) products into the United States (Inv. No. 337-TA-1313).
The ITC reviewed the initial determination and affirmed that there was no violation of Section 337 on October 10 (local time). Then this investigation is terminated.
History of the case: In March 2022, Medytox filed a complaint with the ITC requesting an investigation against Hugel and Hugel America, Inc. and Croma-Pharma GmbH. After Medytox verified the evidence submitted by Hugel through the discovery phase, Medytox withdrew the claim for misappropriation of trade secrets regarding the botulinum strain in September and October of 2023 and then withdrew the claims on trade secrets misappropriation of manufacturing processes for botulinum toxin in January 2024. In its initial determination in June 2024, ALJ said the evidence submitted to the commission did not support Medytox's claim of strain theft and conversion.
"With the ITC's final determination clearing any uncertainties surrounding Hugel's business operations in the U.S., we will accelerate our business expansion in the U.S. We will strive to strengthen the corporate credibility and shareholder value and will seek continuous growth in global markets", a Hugel official said.
About Hugel
Established in 2001, Hugel is a leading global medical aesthetics company that manufactures injectables for skin rejuvenation such as botulinum toxin, hyaluronic acid fillers and skin boosters as well as absorbable sutures and cosmetics products. The company is the only South Korean supplier to the world’s three largest botulinum toxin markets, the US, China and Europe. It exports medical aesthetic products and devices to around 70 countries and operates eight global subsidiaries in the US, Australia, Canada, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.
