The Ministry of Environment환경부 said the Cabinet meeting Tuesday approved the amendment to the Chemical Substance Control Act, designating nitrous oxide, the material of “happy balloon,” as a hallucinogen substance.Nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas, in the balloon gives the user an intense feeling of euphoria, lasting up to a minute and is similar to taking a “snort” of cocaine, w
A Korean research team has identified gene mutations associated with high risk of thyroid cancer, the most common cancer in Korea, Seoul National University Hospital서울대병원 said Tuesday.Professors Kim Jong-il김정일, Park Yeong-ju박영주, and Son Ho-young선호영 of the Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) jointly conducted the research with the National Cancer Center 국립암센터(NCC) and found that the “NRG1
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention질병관리본부 (KCDC) has decided to donate $1 million to support the Korea-WHO Emergency Response Fund to fight global infectious diseases.The fund is aimed to make a prompt initial response, such as investigation, personnel mobilization, and product support, to the spread of infectious diseases. KCDC Director Jung Ki-suck정기석 and Michael Rya
New Minister of Health and Welfare보건 복지부 Park Neung-hoo박능후 said Monday he would strive to set the foundation for creating an “inclusive welfare state” for the next half century. “Although Korea has become the 11th largest economy in the world in a short period, the inclusiveness and welfare level for sustainable development is the lowest level of the OECD,” Park said during his inaugural cerem
Huons, a subsidiary of Huons Global Inc., has won an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its 0.9 percent physiological saline injection, company officials said Monday.Huons휴온스’ 0.9 percent 5mL/10mL physiological saline injection has proved to be biologically equivalent to U.S. pharmaceutical Hospira’s physiological saline injection. I
Daewoong Pharma대웅제약’s NABOTA나보타(development name DWP-450), a Botulinum toxin Type A, has received confirmation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the review acceptance for the marketing authorization application (MAA), its U.S.-based distributor said Friday.Botulinum toxin Type A is a treatment for adult patients with glabellar lines, also known as “frown lines” between the eyebrows.
The National Health Insurance Service (Chairman Sung Sang-chul) has published its first report on Korea's drug pricing and reimbursement policy, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of health insurance.The state agency made the report based on the “PPRI Pharma Profile template” as suggested by Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Information (PPRI), to share information with foreign countries
Biotechnology enterprise Nature Cell네이처셀 successfully administered “AstroStem,”아스트로스템 an Alzheimer's stem cell treatment drug for dementia approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to its first patients, the company said Thursday.Nature Cell received approval from the FDA in November for commercial clinical trials for AstroStem, and in March it was approved by the Institutional
Pfizer Korea Consumer Healthcare한국화이자 컨슈머헬스케어 unveiled its wellness business strategy and the global portfolio for “Centrum,” a multivitamin product that converted from generic drugs to functional foods, Thursday.Centrum is a complete multivitamin specially formulated to include all the essential vitamins and minerals human bodies require on a daily basis.Pfizer announced six products of C
I remember my first HIV/AIDS commercial vividly over 13 years ago. It was on a hot and sticky summer day in Hong Kong and being a typical 11-12-year-old, I was eagerly glued to the TV to watch the latest episode of the cartoon series X-men. The channel resumed to its boring 5-minute commercial run, and suddenly I saw basketball player Yao Ming, one of China's best-known athletes, laughing brightly
A team led by Professor Kim Il-doo김일두 of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology한국과학기술원(KAIST) has developed a sensor that can diagnose diseases through breathing, using animal protein as a catalyst, the institute said Tuesday.The technology enables early monitoring of diseases through pattern recognition of biomarker gases related to various diseases involved in human exhalation th
Two researchers have found if there is a possibility of developing hypertension and diabetes while maintaining healthy normal body shape, the incidence of atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) is higher than that of obese body type.Professor Jung Bo-young정보영 of Severance Hospital세브란스병원 and Professor Park Jun-beom박준범 of Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital이대목동병원 have published the result
A research team has analyzed Koreans’ protein marker base sequence, which can serve as the basis for racial characteristics of Koreans and the cause of their diseases.Two research teams, each led by Professors Kwak Soo-heon and Park Kyung-soo박경수 of Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH)서울대병원 and Professor Kim Jong-il김종일 of Seoul National University College of Medicine서울의대, analyzed the base
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday that it would push for strengthening the standards for innovative pharmaceutical companies’ corporate social responsibility and ethics.“As it is unreasonable to give preferential treatment, R&D priority, and tax benefits to companies with low social ethics -- as seen by a top manager’s verbal abuses against his chauffeurs at an innovative pharmace
Alcohol is a crucial part of daily life for Koreans drinking more hard liquor than most other people in the world, according to the research firm Euromonitor.The Journal of Korean Medical Science also reports that every night about 6 million South Koreans drink 8.97 million bottles of soju, cheap distilled liquor called Korean vodka.Korea is home to more alcoholics than many other countrie
The Korea branch of QuintilesIMS, the world's leading clinical services organization (CRO), received a warning Wednesday for not reporting serious adverse effects during clinical trials to regulatory authorities.Side effects are common in clinical practice. If the clinical drug is of greater benefit and effectiveness than the side effect, the drug may be licensed or an additional indication fo
Korean patients, like their American and British counterparts, will directly assess the hospitals where they received treatments, officials said Thursday.The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA)건강보험심사평가원 said they would begin a survey starting on July 17, asking about the patient experience of tertiary general hospitals and 95 medical insti
Another case of damage has emerged concerning the recently controversial “hamburger disease.”A family claimed their two-year-old child, who ate a McDonald’s hamburger in May, has been diagnosed with the same symptoms due to McDonald's underbaked patty in their burger and filed a complaint on Wednesday.“My child has to receive dialysis every night,” said Choi Eun-ju, the mother of the victi
The “6th AP VALVES 2017,” an international symposium on heart valve arthroscopy, will open on Aug. 16 for a three-day run at Hotel Grand Walker Hill Seoul, organizers said Wednesday.CardioVascular Research Foundation (CVRF) will host the annual event under the sponsorship of Heart Institute of Asan Medical Center.This year, the international conference will share the latest medical knowled
UNIST Professor Park Jong-hwa and researchers at the Korean Genomics Industrialization and Commercialization Center (KOGIC) announced Wednesday they had decoded the genome of the red bat and completed comparative analysis with other organisms.There is a genetic basis for conservation and restoration of endangered red bats, called myotis rufoniger and also known as the golden bat. In particular