In a boost for Allergan (AGN), the U.S. International Trade Commission agreed to investigate a pair of rival companies for allegedly stealing trade secrets for a new version of its medicine.
In a complaint filed last month, Allergan contended a former employee at Medytox, which has a deal to supply the drug maker with a newer wrinkle-smoothing treatment that is still being tested, stole detailed information and provided the material to Daewoong Pharmaceuticals. Allergan took this step just as Daewoong and Evolus won regulatory approval to sell Jeuveau, a Botox competitor.
Here is background from a previous post: Allergan alleged B.K. Lee, a former Medytox researcher, had access to proprietary information about botulinum neurotoxin strains being developed, as well as step-by-step manufacturing plans. But Allergan says he surreptitiously took the data and after leaving in 2008, became a consultant to Daewoong, which three years later began domestic sales of what is now called Jeuveau.
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