Chinese partner terminates agreement with Medytox

External expansion difficult

Bloomage Biotechnology announces it would terminate its partnership with Medytox

Global expansion in the brakes following termination of technology export contract with Allergan

Medytox is having difficulty making entry into the Chinese market.

 

At a presentation on ‘Follow-up regarding Bloomage·Medytox joint venture Medybloom's progress' that was held on the 1st, Bloomage Biotechnology announced that “the company will discontinue the partnership with Medytox and seek opportunities with other botulinum toxin companies." As one of the largest hyaluronic acid production and marketing enterprises in the world, Bloomage Biotechnology is known for its professional sales power in China's cosmetic surgery market.

 

With the termination of the partnership, Medytox will now have to seek new venues for entry into the Chinese market without achieving much during the 5 years after establishing the joint venture, MedyBloom China, with Bloomage Biotechnology in 2017.

 

Medytox applied for the approval for its botox product Meditoxin (Neuronox) to the National Medical Products Administration in China in February 2018, but the agenda is pending for over 4 years.

 

Moreover, the global pharmaceutical company Allergan (currently Abbvie) returned the rights of Medytox’s liquid botulinum toxin candidate (MT-10109L) to Medytox in September last year.

 

This return of rights, which occurred 8 years after the company licensed out the development and global sales rights of its liquid botulinum toxin candidate to Allergan in September 2013, was expected to have caused considerable aftermaths for the company.

 

With the termination of the agreement, Medytox will not be able to receive the remaining milestone payments ($262 million/ ₩342.5 billion) from Allergan.

 

Allergan had planned to sell the liquid botulinum toxin in the global market excluding Korea and Japan after undergoing clinical trials and approval processes, but this is also now unclear.

 

With Medytox facing difficulties in 2 of the 3 largest global botulinum toxin markets - the US and China - other competitors are accelerating their market defense and penetration strategies for their botox products.

 

Hugel’s Letybo continues to rank first in the Korean market and is solidifying its position as the market leader with the recent marketing authorization and launch of its botulinum toxin in China.

 

Daewoong’s Nabota has also been increasing its global market sales and shares upon receiving marketing authorization and release in the US.

 

Also, Nabota is coordinating the timing for its entry into the European market, and is on the verge of achieving a grand slam of being approved in all three global major markets as it has completed Phase III clinical trials and is about to receive marketing authorization in China.

 

Meanwhile, Medytox had relayed to the press that “We received a letter from Bloomage regarding the contract termination, but nothing has been finalized.

 

We will be reviewing measures from various angles to come up with the optimal plan for entering the Chinese botulinum toxin market.”