Daewoong to take legal action against Pfizer unit

SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korean drugmaker Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co.
said Monday it will take legal action against Wyeth Inc., a unit of Pfizer Inc.,
accusing the U.S. company of scrapping a joint development project for a new
drug.

The dispute stems from a 2005 deal between Daewoong and Haptogen Ltd., a
biotechnology company in Scotland, to develop an antibody drug. Since Haptogen
was acquired by Wyeth in 2007, the Pfizer unit has "unilaterally rejected" the
project, according to officials at Daewoong.
Under the 2005 deal, the South Korean government and the Scottish Development
Agency agreed to provide 3 billion won (US$25.8 million) each to develop the new
drug by 2007.
After Wyeth rejected the project, Daewoong claimed it suffered 6 billion won in
lost development costs.
Daewoong said it will ask for arbitration by a court in a third country to
resolve the dispute, without elaborating further.
"We will sternly deal with the practice by a multinational drug company," said an
official at Daewoong.
Officials at Pfizer's office in Seoul weren't immediately available for comment.
(END)