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【South Korea】Medytox abruptly cancels Innotox research briefing, citing internal reasons

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Editor's note

The abrupt cancellation, citing internal corporate matters and ongoing follow-up studies, raises a regulatory question for buyers tracking Innotox's scientific trajectory, especially given its history of license revocation and legal battles.

Medytox has abruptly canceled a planned briefing on the heat stability of its liquid botulinum toxin product Innotox, originally scheduled for June 11. The company cited internal corporate matters and ongoing follow-up studies as the reason for the postponement. The cancellation comes just three months after a related study was published in an international journal, raising questions among distributors and clinics monitoring the product's regulatory and scientific trajectory.

Background of the canceled briefing

The briefing was intended to present scientific evidence on Innotox's heat stability, following a comparative study published in March in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum. That study exposed Innotox and powder-form toxins with HSA excipients to 60°C for 25 minutes—conditions mimicking energy-based aesthetic devices such as HIFU and radiofrequency. Results showed Innotox maintained nearly full potency, while comparator powder products lost up to 51% efficacy. Researchers attributed the stability to Polysorbate 20 and L-methionine in Innotox.

Company explanation

A Medytox representative stated: "Due to internal corporate circumstances, the schedule has been unavoidably postponed." When pressed for details, the representative added that the company is conducting additional follow-up research and believes it would be more meaningful to share the results together. No new date for the briefing has been announced.

Innotox product profile

Innotox, launched in 2013, is billed as the world's first non-animal-derived liquid botulinum toxin formulation. Unlike freeze-dried powders, it requires no reconstitution before injection and excludes animal-derived components in both excipients and culture media. This liquid format offers convenience advantages for clinics, but its market path has been turbulent.

Regulatory and legal history

In January 2021, South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety revoked Innotox's product license after an investigation found unauthorized raw material use and falsified stability test data during the approval process. Medytox challenged the revocation, and both lower and appellate courts ruled in its favor. The Supreme Court dismissed the government's appeal, allowing Innotox manufacturing and sales to continue pending the final outcome. In February 2025, the Cheongju District Court acquitted CEO Jung Hyun-ho on related criminal charges.

What buyers should watch

Distributors and clinic buyers should monitor Medytox's next communication on Innotox's heat stability data, as it could support claims of compatibility with combination energy-based treatments. The ongoing legal and regulatory uncertainty remains a key risk factor. Any new study release may signal the company's readiness to re-engage the global aesthetic market more aggressively.

Source: Read the original report | Published: June 08, 2026

【South Korea】Medytox abruptly cancels Innotox research briefing, citing internal reasons | LASHNEWS