“Niclosamide showed an antiviral effect, regulating the autophagy function of virus-infected cells of the host. We picked it as a drug candidate to treat the new coronavirus because we confirmed such effect in laboratory conditions and identified its mechanism of virus suppression.”Kim Seung-taek, head of Institut Pasteur Korea (IPK)’s Zoonotic Virus Lab Team, said so on niclosamide, an ingred
French Ambassador Philippe Lefort visited Institut Pasteur Korea (IPK) in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday to learn how much its research of the new coronavirus treatment progressed and discuss enhancing cooperation between the two countries.The institute told Ambassador Lefort that it had made significant progress to pick the most effective drug candidates to treat Covid-19.
The new coronavirus slowed the growth of the overall outpatient drug prescriptions in the first quarter, in stark contrast to the same period in the previous year when many drugs achieved two-digit sales growth.According to data by U-BIST, only four out of the top 20 prescription drugs pulled off a two-digit sales growth in the first quarter compared to a year earlier. The number is fewer than
Prosecutors have reportedly found that Medytox fabricated data to win approval for its botulinum toxin (BTX) but could not indict the company because the statute of limitations expired.Even though the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety plans to nullify the license of the botulinum toxin for the violation of the law in the manufacturing process, the punishment is too limited, critics said. Likewi
The whistleblowers who revealed Medytox’s alleged illegal manufacturing of a botulinum toxin and the company’s shareholders counterattacked the company’s statement released on Monday. Koo Young-shin, a lawyer who filed a public complaint with the Korean Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission against Medytox for using unauthorized material to manufacture the botulinum toxin on behalf of a
ImmuneMed said its inflammatory viral disease treatment HzVSF (humanized virus suppressing factor) would effectively work against the new coronavirus.The company refuted criticism that the candidate drug’s therapeutic effect on Covid-19 in clinical trials could have resulted from the combination with Kaletra, an HIV drug. ImmuneMed CEO Kim Yoon-won stressed that the Covid-19 virus was “com
“I don’t know why people pay attention only to vaccines and treatments against the new coronavirus. Stem cell therapies are more useful to treat Covid-19.”So claimed Lee Hee-young, president of the Korean Association of Stemcell Therapy, at a news conference in Seoul, Monday. He called for active use of stem cell therapies to treat Covid-19 patients.“Several studies have proved the eff
Osang Healthcare said it has won the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval for emergency use of the test kit for the new coronavirus, which was the first for a Korean firm.The FDA said on Saturday it issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Osang’s product, GeneFinder COVID-19 Plus RealAmp Kit.GeneFinder uses a molecular diagnostic method to check Covid-19 infection using
Local researchers said the number of natural killer cells and their high activity could be a biomarker to predict the effectiveness of immunotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).NKMAX, a biotech firm, said Friday the local researchers used their product NK Vue kit in the study, “Natural Killer Cells as a Potential Biomarker for Predicting Immunotherapy Efficacy in Patien
Prosecutors said Friday they have indicted Medytox CEO Jung Hyun-ho on charges of unlawfully manufacturing and distributing Meditoxin, a botulinum toxin product. Still, they allowed him to stand trial without physical detention. The public prosecutors' office in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, said it charged Chung with violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and the obstruction of just
Bukwang Pharm said its hepatitis B treatment Levovir (ingredient: clevudine) would be the first locally developed drug to be tested in a clinical trial against the new coronavirus.Company officials said the drug candidate had suppressed the hepatitis B virus even after the end of the drug administration and that they would find whether it would also be effective against the Covid-19 virus.
Pharmaceutical industry observers are closely following whether Kolon Life Science and its subsidiary Kolon TissueGene will pull off successful clinical trials on Invossa-K, gene therapy for osteoarthritis, in the United States.After the Korean regulator nullified the license of Invossa due to a drug mislabeling last year, how Kolon will conduct the U.S. studies and regain trust in the medicin
Kolon Life Science said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has allowed the company to resume the phase-3 clinical trial of Invossa-K, gene therapy for osteoarthritis, in the United States.The FDA lifted the clinical hold of the drug almost a year after it suspended the study in May last year. Although the Korean regulator revoked the license of Invossa in the local market due to an ingredie
The local diagnostics industry is likely to achieve an unprecedented sales growth this year, as global demands for Korean test kits surged amid the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.A significant number of test kit makers have signed supply deals in just several weeks that were more worth than the last year’s annual revenue.According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea He
Samsung Biologics recorded the widest salary gap between its executives and employees among the Korean pharmaceutical companies last year.According to the analysis of business reports of 20 largest pharmaceuticals in 2019, there was a salary gap of 6.7 times on the average between their employees and registered executives except for auditors and outside directors. The salary gap was wide
Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies have jumped in developing treatments against the new coronavirus. Still, no firm has entered a clinical trial stage so far due to insufficient data.Some of the companies were so focused on promoting development plans that they did not even prepare minimal data necessary to conduct a study.The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has approved six clin
The government said it has approved three investigational drugs to treat a limited number of more than 10 patients infected with the new coronavirus (COVID-19) so far.The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety regulator gave the latest nod to GemVax & Kael’s GV1001, an experimental drug for Alzheimer’s disease. On Friday, the regulator allowed Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital to use GV
Giving blood plasma from patients recovered from the new coronavirus infection to the sick is emerging as a potential treatment of COVID-19.However, a local company developing an immune globulin agent using the plasma of recovered patients said it had trouble getting the blood because of local regulations.An immune globulin medicine has a mechanism similar to plasma treatment, transfusing
ImmuneMed, a local biotech firm, has come under criticism for exaggerating the effect of an investigational antiviral drug against the new coronavirus (COVID-19).The company had claimed that a COVID-19 patient treated with its experimental drug, hzVSF (humanized virus suppressing factor), fully recovered from the disease. However, the cured patient is known to have received the combination the
As U.S. President Donald Trump officially asked South Korean President Moon Jae-in to supply Korean new coronavirus (COVID-19) test kits, the U.S. regulator is expected to grant the nod for Korean kits as soon as possible, industry officials said.Some of the local companies have already signed a deal with some U.S. states to supply test kits.Moon on Wednesday met with five CEOs of domestic