The Chinese government has never approved Korean “Botulinum toxin” products to sell in China. That means no Korean drugmakers are officially exporting their botulimum toxins to China. Yet Korean-made Botulinum toxins are being smuggled into China – in tens of millions of dollars.According to customs statistics released by Korea Customs Service(KSC), even though China has approved no Korean Bot
Pfizer’s breast cancer therapy Palbociclib, better known as Ibrance, is likely to receive insurance coverage.The Pharmaceutical Benefits Committee of Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA)건강보험심사평가원 Thursday concluded the Ibrance Cap is appropriate to receive insurance benefits.If Palbociclib passes a drug price negotiation between the pharmaceutical company and National Health
To help oriental medicine doctors advance to the United States, it is necessary to put “MD” (Doctor of Medicine) in their licenses, a government think tank said in a recent report.Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI)한국보건산업진흥원 released the report Wednesday with the title of “Developing the strategy to help oriental medical institutions advance to America,” which was submitted in
Big businesses and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 17 percent and 83 percent of Korea’s stem cell biological drug market, respectively, a state think tank said Wednesday.By corporate size, SMEs accounted for 37 percent of the market, followed by small firms’ 26.2 percent, midsize companies’ 19.2 percent, and large businesses’ 17.6 percent, as of 2015, according to Korea I
The Traditional Korean Medicine R&D Project, which began with the goal of developing oriental medicine into a new growth-driving industry, has produced dismal results by failing to export a single technology.The government project, which has been progressing since 2009, includes several sectoral programs, such as the development of herb medicine, support for clinical trials, international rese
Dear CEO Michael Goettler,“There was no mention of Ibrance in the question and answer session at the Pfizer media event for rare diseases.”I got a phone call from Pfizer Korea Monday. We talked about a media event organized by Pfizer Korea in which you took part. A reporter working for the Korea Biomedical Review, the sister paper of the Korean Doctors Weekly, also participated in the even
For precision medicine to take root in Korea, the nation needs to make a more positive investment into research and development and cultivate expert workforce, a state agency said.Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information(KISTI)한국과학기술정보연구원 reached the conclusion in its recent “Report on precision medicine services (materialization of personalized treatment through clinical genomic
Roche Korea is treading carefully in promoting Alecensa (compound: alectinib alectinib), which is highly likely to be registered as the primary treatment of Anaplastic lymphoma kinase(ALK) through global clinical trials. The reason: the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS)식품의약품안전처 has recently strengthened its “off-label”-related regulations.Currently, Xalkori (crizotinib) made by Pfizer화이자
As the biomarker technology remains at a nascent stage in Korea, the industry needs to develop it more positively, and the government should increase support for such efforts, an expert said in a recent report. The biomarker is the index to detect changes in a body by using proteins, DNA, RNA, and metabolites.“The domestic biomarker market related to personalized medical services remains a
Competition in the quadrivalent influenza vaccine market will likely become fiercer, as Korea will add these vaccines to the national immunization program (NIP) next year.Sanofi Pasteur사노피 announced Tuesday that its quadrivalent flu vaccine, VaxigripTetra, had gained the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s approval as the seventh vaccine of its kind, following GlaxoSmithKline’s글락소스미스클라인 Fluarix
Kwangdong Pharmaceutical has recorded the highest sales of functional health food among the domestic drugmakers.Korea Biomedical Review analyzed the records of health food sales made through channels other than pharmacies by the domestic pharmaceutical companies in the first quarter, based on the data of LinkAztec Korea 링크아즈텍 코리아, a market survey company.As a result, 20 pharmaceutical comp
Bio ventures promoting cosmetic products while claiming to carry the banner for developing new drugs are no longer new to the public. Not just ventures but some of the nation’s medium- and large-sized pharmaceutical companies may be reeling from severe revenue drops had it not been for makeup, health food, and beverage products.Given the nature of new drug development that requires massive inv
The nation needs to set up an independent organization responsible for developing candidate substances of new drugs, to be co-funded by the government, private investors and universities, an expert said Wednesday.Ha Kyung-sik하경식, a senior fellow at CJ HealthcareCJ헬스케어 made the proposal at a workshop discussing the direction of bio-medicinal industry upon the inauguration of the new government,
The Moon Jae-in administration, which is busy setting up specific strategies to develop biopharmaceutical industry, appears set to straighten up state-funded research and development projects in medical and healthcare area, now scattered among multiple agencies.“Interagency projects need an improved system,” said Rep. Cho Won-jun조원준, who serves as a specialized member of the ruling Democratic
Drugmakers are raising their voices to ease regulations so that they can make better use healthcare big data at public organizations for developing new drugs.The big data currently supplied are mostly those oriented to the needs of academics or suppliers, not very suitable for industrial use, they say.The domestic pharmaceutical industrialists put forth these and other demands at a confere
“Macular degeneration,” changes occurring in macular which results in the visual impairment, and “diabetic retinopathy,” which takes place in retina resulting from diabetic complication, are both senile eye diseases.Recently, the number of the elderly with the disease has been growing fast along with the increase of aged people. Medicines to treat these diseases, however, are all imports. The
Insurance coverage negotiations for Pfizer’s expensive breast cancer drug, Ibrance, have come to a stop.Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service건강보험심사평가원(HIRA) said Friday that it could not acknowledge Pfizer’s bidding price for Ibrance(compound: palbociclib) upon reviewing its application, even after considering the necessity of the drug.Patients have expressed their frustration
The domestic market for radiotherapy equipment, for which Korea entirely relies on import, will likely continue to grow, prompting the government to encourage their localization, a state agency said Wednesday. “The market for radiotherapy equipment is expected to increase as the demand for radioactive treatment increases,” said Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology한국산업기술평가관리원(K
Global bio industry giant Biogen is highly likely to enter Korea’s market, industry sources said Wednesday.According to plural industry executives, Biogen has been preparing to introduce to Korea a new spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) therapy called Spinraza approved in Europe recently while trying to set up its Korean offshoot.Biogen, a leader in the multiple sclerosis therapy market along w
The number of approvals for “U-healthcare gateway” needed for conducting telemedicine increased sharply last year.U-healthcare gateway is a device or software that collects biological information measured in U-healthcare medical equipment (that measures and collects personal medical information gathered outside of medical institutions, and transfers to and stores them at medical institutions)