The government has extended the current distancing rules for another two weeks ahead of transitioning into the more relaxed "live-with-covid" system from November.Accordingly, the Seoul metro region will be under the Level 4 distancing measures and the non-capital area under Level 3 measures until O
With the global supply chain under duress due to the protracted Covid-19 pandemic, Korean pharmaceutical companies are having difficulty obtaining raw materials, leading to some medicines going out of stock, industry sources said.For example, Yuhan Corp's constipation treatments Portalac powder and
Daewoong Pharmaceutical said it has signed an agreement with Aghrass Healthcare Limited, a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based company, to license out gastroesophageal reflux treatment, Fexuprazan.Under the accord, Aghrass Healthcare Limited will license and sell Fexuprazan in six Middle Eastern nation
Besremi (ropeginterferon alfa-2b), developed by Taiwanese drugmaker Pharma Essentia, obtained marketing approval in Korea. It is a next-generation interferon that acts directly on hematopoietic stem cells to treat polycythemia vera fundamentally.On Wednesday, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety app
Novartis Korea said that it has confirmed that Certican, its transplant immunosuppressant, preserves renal function, reduces viral infection, and has immunosuppressive efficacy in Asian kidney transplant patients, through a sub-analysis of the TRANSFORM study.According to the company, the TRANSFORM
EuBiologics is struggling to get a comparative vaccine to conduct a phase 3 trial of a Covid-19 vaccine, industry officials said.A comparative vaccine is essential for a comparative immunogenicity study because a vaccine candidate should prove its non-inferiority to the authorized vaccine.Compared t
A new gastrointestinal (GI) disorder treatment, developed by Yuhan Corp. and licensed out to a U.S. biotech firm, won the FDA approval for a Phase 2a trial.At the time of the licensing agreement, Yuhan received the U.S. partner company’s common stock in an upfront payment. The market is paying atten
Olix Pharmaceutical said it has signed a licensing and cooperative agreement with China’s Jiangsu Hansoh Pharmaceuticals Group to research and develop siRNA (small interfering ribonucleic acid) treatments.Under the accord, the two companies plan to discover therapeutic substances for cardiovascular
CureVac said it has decided to stop developing its first-generation mRNA Covid-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV, due to disappointing efficacy in phase 3 clinical trials and focus on a more promising second-generation vaccine with GSK.The company expected to get approval for CVnCoV in the second quarter
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety ordered Hana Pharm to temporarily suspend its narcotics products such as anesthetics and pain relievers.Expecting the administrative punishment will take a significant toll on its sales, the company said it would take legal actions against the MFDS. In a public f
Novo Nordisk has started a clinical trial of semaglutide, a second-generation treatment for obesity after Saxenda (liraglutide), tailored for the Korean population. Saxenda is the leading obesity treatment in Korea in terms of sales.On Sept. 30, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved a phase
Cellid, a developer of virus vector Covid-19 vaccine candidate, AdCLD-CoV19-1, said it has joined the COVAX Marketplace that allocates raw materials for vaccines.The innovative market coordinated by COVAX provides suppliers with a platform to allocate or reallocate unused materials for vaccines, mob
Pharmaceutical companies are actively working with drug delivery systems (DDS) companies to develop long-acting injections.Long-acting injections are drawing much attention because they are regarded as a new “growth engine” that can overcome the shortcomings of existing treatments.The development of
LegoChem Bioscience said it has entered into a research collaboration and license option agreement to develop an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) treatment with a Chinese biopharmaceutical firm.However, the company did not name which Chinese company, citing a contractual term.Under the accord, the two
A study conducted by MD Anderson Cancer Center, U.S., has confirmed that poziotinib can further improve the kirsten rat sarcoma virus (KRAS) inhibitory activity when administered combined with an agent inhibiting KRAS."Spectrum, a partner of Hanmi, announced that the results of the poziotinib combin
Domestic pharmaceutical companies are speeding up efforts to develop chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy after the government approved the first gene editing CAR-T treatment, Kymriah, this year, industry watchers said Thursday.Drugmakers are competing to develop the patient-tailored tre
Encouraged by investors' growing interests in the biopharmaceutical industry amid the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic, local drugmakers are going all out to secure financial resources through massive bond issuance, market watchers said Thursday.Their moves aim to invest in new businesses and strengthen
Korean consumers are increasingly purchasing fever reducers they prefer, as the nation’s Covid-19 vaccination rate is picking up.According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, over 64.5 percent of the Korean population aged 18 or more have completed receiving the full doses of Covid-1
Biogen Korea said it would begin global phase 3 ASCEND trials of high-dose nusinersen, marketed as Spinraza, in treating patients with late-onset spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) who received Roche’s risdiplam in the past.It will conduct the second part of the ASCEND study for 2.5 years with 135 SMA pa
Takeda Korea plans to provide a new treatment option for breast cancer (BRCA) susceptibility gene-mutated ovarian cancer patients after recently receiving expanded reimbursement for Zejula.Last Friday, Zejula got expanded health insurance coverage as maintenance therapy for BRCA susceptibility gene-