Daewoong’s botox gains approvals in UAE and Indonesia

Daewoong Pharmaceutical has won approval to sell Nabota, a botox treatment, in the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.

The Korean drugmaker announced in a statement Thursday that the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Indonesia’s Badan Pengawas Obat dan Makanan accepted its application for the botulinum toxin product.

Nabota, marketed as Nuceiva in Europe and Jeuveau in the United States, is used as a treatment for wrinkles by weakening or paralyzing muscles or blocking nerves. The product was first introduced in Korea in 2014.

The product will be the first of its kind to be sold in the UAE and Indonesia. Nabota has already hit the U.S. market, one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the world, after Daewoong Pharmaceutical won sales approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical said it plans to start selling Nabota in the UAE and Indonesia in the first half of 2020. Local partner Dansys will be in charge of marketing in the UAE, while the company said it has yet to pick an Indonesian marketing partner.

The Korean drugmaker signed an agreement with Dansys in March 2017 that gave Dansys the exclusive right to market its products in eight countries, including the UAE and Kuwait.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical said the latest approval is expected to help the company gain a competitive edge in the global botulism toxin market, as the UAE can be a crucial entry market for the Arabian Peninsula. The Indonesian market has strong growth potential as it is the world’s fourth most populous country.

The Korean pharmaceutical company said that it will use the latest approval as a stepping stone to get additional approvals in other Middle Eastern markets while working to improve sales in the markets where it is already marketing Nabota.

The product has won approval from regulators in a total of 50 countries, including the United States, Canada and countries in Europe and has it signed 80 marketing agreements.

BY KO JUN-TAE [ko.juntae@joongang.co.kr]