Medytox Injectables

Medytox is a fast growing South Korean medical aesthetic company. Please continue reading to learn more about some of the injectables made by Medytox.

Medytox Botulinum Toxin Products

Medytox makes the following botulinum toxin type A products.

Neuronox

This botulinum toxin product (Hall strain) is used to treat:

• Benign essential blepharospasm (abnormal eyelid movements) in adults.
• Equinus foot deformity in pediatric cerebral palsy patients.
• Upper limb muscle spasticity due to stroke in adults over the age of 20.
• Cervical dystonia (abnormal head position and neck pain) in adults.
• Moderate to severe glabellar wrinkles (frown lines between the eyebrows) in adults between the ages of 20 and 65 years old.
• Moderate to severe lateral canthal lines (crow's feet lines) in adults between the ages of 20 and 65 years old.

Innotox

This botulinum toxin product from Medytox is a Hall strain and is used to:

• Temporarily improve moderate to severe glabellar wrinkles (frown lines between the eyebrows) in adult patients aged 20 to 65 years.

Coretox

This botulinum toxin type A (Hall strain) is used to:

• Temporarily improve moderate to severe glabellar wrinkles (frown lines between the eyebrows) in adult patients aged 20 to 65 years old.
• Treat upper limb spasticity in adult patients aged 19 years and older.

New Products from MedyTox

At present, about 90% of Medytox's revenue from the global market comes from botulinum toxin (BTX) products (Neuronox, Innotox, Coretox) and hyaluronic acid (HA) products (Neuramis). To diversify, the company has developed an injection called MT921 that breaks down fat. Medytox is conducting phase 3 clinical trials for MT921. The study has enrolled 240 adult patients with moderate to severe submandibular fat (double chin) at seven medical institutions in order to study safety and efficacy of this product before putting it on sale commercially. Compared to existing products for injection lipolysis (breaking down fat), MT921 is a next generation injectable that has a lower risk of side effects such as swelling and bruising at the injection site.

Other new drugs in the Medytox pipeline that will improve its market share include anticancer drugs (MT106 and MT912), a drug for inflammatory bowel disease (MT971), and a drug to treat solid cancers (MT981).

Medytox in the news

The US pharmaceutical giant Allergan, the manufacturer of Botox, which is the best known botulinum toxin brand for cosmetic treatments, has successfully blocked the sale of a competitor to Botox in the US market which is made by Medytox. The International Trade Commission (ITC) agreed that a BTX product called Jeuveau develped by Daewoong Pharmaceuticals, a bioengineering firm from South Korea, is a direct competitor of Botox and will significantly undercut Botox. Medytox is Allergan's South Korean partner.

Allergan has alleged that Daewoong created Jeuveau using misappropriated trade secrets from its Korean partner Medytox. Specifically, the stolen documents pertained to the processes used to create the botulinum toxin brand Meditoxin that is made by Medytox. It is believed that a former Allergan employee ‘stole’ the documents and sold them to Daewoong after he went to work there.

Byung Kook (BK) Lee allegedly printed copies of Medytox's Batch Record and Characterization Report. These are documents that contain step by step information required to make a botulinum toxin product.

As a result of these allegations of gross misconduct, the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) provisionally suspended the manufacture of Meditoxin. This product made by Medytox was pulled from the South Korean market.

The judge in Washington DC sided with Allergan and said Daewoong violated section 337 of the Tariff Act 1930. According to the World Trade Organization, section 337 refers to “unfair methods of competition and unfair acts in the importation of articles into the United States.”

The decision does not have any immediate effect on the sale of Jeuveau in the US. However, Daewoong will have to petition the ITC to review the judge's initial decision. David Moatazedi, President and CEO of Evolus, the US distributor for Jeuveau is quoted as saying, "“We strongly disagree with the initial determination and we look forward to the full Commissions’ final determination."

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Nabota same as Botox?

Nabota is a botulinum toxin type A product made by Daewoong Pharmaceutical, Seoul, Korea. It is made from the same strain of Clostridium botulinum as onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox). Nabota has been found to be more effective than Botox in improving severe glabellar wrinkles (frown lines). The results of a randomized, double-blind, phase 3 study that compared Nabota and onabotulinumtoxinA for the treatment of moderate to severe glabellar wrinkles showed Nabota treatment produced a better response rate (93.9%) vs. onabotulinumtoxinA (88.6%) for lines at maximum frown. The incidence of adverse events was similar between the two treatment groups (20% vs. 18.1%), thereby demonstrating a similar safety profile and slightly superior efficacy for Nabota.

The onset of action (how quickly results are visible) is also an important factor for patients seeking facial rejuvenation and treatment of facial rhytides with botulinum toxins. Products that have a more rapid onset (fast-acting products) are preferred and are associated with higher treatment satisfaction.

The study evaluated improvement in frown lines by using a 4-point facial wrinkle scale. The results showed that onabotulinumtoxinA produced an effect on glabellar lines in almost 50% of patients by day 1 and in 87% of patients by day 2 on assessment by a physician. Subanalysis showed:

After abobotulinumtoxinA, 19.7% of patients had an effect on glabellar lines on day 1 with average onset at day 3.

After incobotulinumtoxinA, the majority of patients noted improvement in glabellar lines 2 to 4 days after treatment.

After Nabota for glabellar frown lines, improvement was observed 2 days after the injection in 85.4% of patients and this percentage increased over time. The average time to see results of Nabota was 2.3 days.

Why is Innotox discontinued?

Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety revoked the license of Innotox after it was discovered that the maker of this BTX product, Medytox, illegally used unauthorized ingredients to obtain and change approval. Medytox claimed that Innotox was a different product from the one the company licensed to Allergan.

Is Innotox still available?

The manufacture and sale of Innotox has been temporarily suspended by Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to protect consumers from possible harmful effects. Healthcare providers have been notified to stop using the product.

How long does Innotox last?

The therapeutic results of Innotox could last up to 8 months.

Finding an aesthetic medical professional for botulinum toxin injections

The MeTime app connects you to leading aesthetic medical professionals in your community. You can chat with experts, share photos, do a video consult, get quotes, and much more. Download the MeTime app today and find out whether Medytox injectable products are right for you.