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🇰🇷 South Korea /Health & Science

Court: Kolon, Chairman Lee to compensate Invossa patients and families with 660 million won

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • A South Korean court ordered Kolon Group honorary chairman Lee Woong-yeol and related companies to pay 660 million won (approximately $550,000) in damages to patients who suffered harm from the gene therapy drug Invossa.
  • The lawsuit involved 18 plaintiffs, including patients who received Invossa and families of those who died after treatment, alleging physical and mental distress due to manufacturing defects.
  • The court found Kolon Life Science and its affiliates liable for manufacturing defects and misrepresentation, acknowledging significant emotional distress and awarding compensation for medical expenses and damages.

A South Korean court has ordered Kolon Group's honorary chairman, Lee Woong-yeol, along with Kolon Life Science, Kolon TissueGene, and former executive Lee Woo-seok, to pay approximately 660 million won (about $550,000) in damages. The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by 18 patients and their families who suffered physical and mental harm after receiving the gene therapy drug Invossa for osteoarthritis.

The court found that the defendants, including the company executives, knew about the defects in Invossa but proceeded to manufacture and sell it.

— Seoul Central District CourtReasoning for the court's decision on liability.

The plaintiffs, who received Invossa between April 2018 and March 2019, alleged continuous pain, the need for long-term treatment, and in some cases, the development of cancer attributed to manufacturing defects in the drug. They sought compensation for their suffering and medical expenses.

The Seoul Central District Court's Civil Division 29 ruled that the defendants are jointly liable under product liability laws due to manufacturing defects and a lack of expected stability in Invossa. The court acknowledged that the defects caused significant emotional distress to the plaintiffs and the deceased. Additionally, liability was recognized for false labeling on the drug's packaging and instructions, which claimed it contained "cartilage-derived cells" instead of the actual tumor-inducing kidney-derived cells (GP2-293) used in its production.

The court ruled that the defendants are jointly liable under product liability laws due to manufacturing defects and a lack of expected stability in Invossa.

— Seoul Central District CourtLegal basis for the compensation order.

Invossa, developed by Kolon TissueGene, a US subsidiary of Kolon Life Science, was approved in South Korea in 2017 as the country's first gene therapy for arthritis. However, the discovery of the misrepresentation regarding its cell composition led the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to revoke its approval in July 2019. The court ordered compensation for surviving patients at 30 million won each and 50 million won for the families of those who died. The prescribing doctors and their medical foundations were also ordered to pay 14 million won for the deceased patients.

The court acknowledged that the defects caused significant emotional distress to the plaintiffs and the deceased.

— Seoul Central District CourtAcknowledging the impact of the drug's defects on patients.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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