Supreme Court dismisses appeal to suspend sales of Hugel’s Botox

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Hugel logo

Hugel logo

The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal filed by the Seoul Regional Office of Food and Drug Safety in an ongoing legal row over the suspension of the sale of Hugel’s botulinum toxin products, Hugel said Wednesday. 
 
The dismissal came as the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on December 2 ordered to revoke the license of four botulax botulinum toxin products manufactured by Hugel for violating certification and shipping regulations. The drug safety authorities said it caught Hugel selling the items in the domestic market without gaining approval, and also ordered Hugel to recall and destroy all the products in circulation. 
 
Botulinum toxin is popularly known by the Botox brand name.
 
However, Hugel immediately filed a complaint against the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to suspend the order, arguing that the products were export-only pharmaceuticals, which means that they didn’t have to gain approval from the authority when exporting them. 
 
With its complaint, the Seoul Regional Office of Food and Drug Safety appealed to the Seoul High Court but the local court dismissed it in January. The government body again appealed, and it was again dismissed by the Supreme Court on April 5. 
 
“The decision by the Supreme Court proves that the Food and Drug Ministry’s order was just an issue that occurred due to a difference in the government’s interpretation of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and has nothing to do with the quality of our botulinum toxin products,” Hugel said in a statement Wednesday. “Hugel’s botulax products are quality-approved items that they have never been in trouble with the law over the past 10 years.”

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]





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