PharmaResearch, Huons use BTX strain found on 'pig farm'
PharmaResearch Products CEO Jung Sang-soo, left, and Huons CEO Um Key-an
By Park Jae-hyuk
PharmaResearch and Huons are using a botulinum toxin (BTX) strain found near a local pig farm to develop anti-wrinkle cosmetics products, company officials said Thursday, denying allegations that they stole the strain from Medytox or other larger rivals.
But the two companies declined to disclose the location of the pig farm.
A PharmaResearch Products employee in charge of investors relations told The Korea Times, “I am aware of that Biotopia handed over the strain to our subsidiary, PharmaResearch BIO,” reiterating a PharmaResearch BIO official's remarks made in a business presentation at the Korea Exchange in Seoul, June 26.
“The BTX strain was taken over from Biotopia. Biotopia discovered the strain in soil near a pig farm,” the PharmaResearch BIO official was quoted as saying. “Our strain differs from those of Medytox and Daewoong.”
Botulinum toxin is a biopharmaceutical substance used to remove facial wrinkles by paralyzing muscles. The demand for BTX has been growing rapidly in Korea and elsewhere as more people undergo the treatment to look younger.
PharmaResearch BIO, which was formerly Bio CND, has specialized in developing BTX, since its parent company acquired it in January.
It aims to get an approval for the sales of its BTX by 2021. The company plans to export the product as well, taking advantage of its parent company's sales networks abroad.
In addition, Huons, which took over Biotopia in 2016, also claims the strain of its own BTX named Hutox came from the same pig farm, saying the strain differs from those of Medytox and Daewoong.
“Our strain is categorized as ATCC 3502, which differs from the controversial strain categorized as Hall A,” a Huons spokeswoman said. “We have therefore not faced any complaints from our rivals.”
In addition to PharmaResearch and Huons, domestic BTX makers have presented their own sources.
Medytox, the nation's largest BTX maker, said it received its strain from Professor Yang Kyu-hwan, who brought it strain to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in late 1970s.
The company said Yang gave the strain to its CEO Jung Hyun-ho, who was a student of the professor.
Daewoong once said it discovered its strain from piles of garbage after five years of exploration, but the drugmaker now claims its BTX was commercialized after being extracted from soil near a stable it owned in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.
Hugel, which had claimed it discovered its BTX strain from rotten canned foods, now claims it discovered the strain, after letting food waste rot.
However, Medytox has cast doubts about the sources of Hugel and Daewoong's BTX products.
Medytox even filed a lawsuit against Daewoong, alleging it stole the strain and manufacturing know-how in developing Nabota, Daewoong's BTX which is under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's examination for approval of sales in the country.
Medytox cited the difficulty of discovering the strain from domestic soil as a reason for the lawsuit.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, 24 companies reported they own BTX strains and 14 reported they have BTX, as of last January.
Given that the sources of their products are uncertain, however, the government has been criticized for poor management of the potentially fatal toxin ― one gram of which can kill over a million people.