The negotiations on retrieving the reimbursement of pharmaceutical pricing for choline alfoscerate drugs to help treat dementia between the state health insurance agency and pharmaceutical companies have been concluded except for some drugmakers.After lengthy bargaining, the National Health Insuranc
Genexine is soon to conduct a phase 2/3 trial of Covid-19 vaccine candidate GX-19N in Indonesia but has yet to register the study on ClinicalTrials.gov, a registry of global clinical trials. The company obtained Indonesian approval for the study in early July.The South Korean biotech company said th
Korean officials failed to receive a definite answer on the supply amount and timing of Moderna vaccines in a recent U.S. meeting, repeating their request to supply vaccines manufactured by Samsung Biologics to Korea first.The government has continued to send such requests to Moderna since June to l
The medical community criticized the government for inconsistent Covid-19 vaccination policy, particularly after the authorities reversed the previous position and allowed younger people to get AstraZeneca’s shots.On Tuesday, the Korean Medical Association’s Covid-19 response committee released a st
Minority shareholders of Bukwang Pharmaceutical may have had too much expectation for a Covid-19 treatment candidate that their promotion of the drug candidate went overboard.Differences in position between the company and minority shareholders over the promotion of Levovir (ingredient: clevudine) h
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients suffering from skin stiffening and organ disfunction should guard against the occurrence of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis in case they had found ANCAs through previous checks, researchers said Tuesday.Professor Lee Sang-won and Doc
As the government has gradually increased reimbursement for combination drugs treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), patients’ hopes are growing for more diverse treatment options.CLL is a blood cancer that occurs when lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, grow and turn into cancer and inte
Korea’s import of pharmaceutical products approached 1 trillion won in July, hitting a record-high level.According to the Korea Customs Service, drug imports totaled about 960 billion won ($819.5 million), up 25 percent from $657.9 million in the same month of last year.Industry watchers attributed
The Covid-19 pandemic has been resurging since last month. As the number of confirmed cases increased sharply, the planned easing of social distancing has been shelved. Moreover, the Delta variant has become the most dominant strain in Korea (Fig. 1).However, unlike the past three viral waves, the n
Scioto Biosciences, a subsidiary of immuno-oncology firm Genome & Company, said it has completed the first administering of SB-121, a microbiome treatment for autism, on patients in the United States.“We moved a step forward to developing the first-in-class drug for autism treatment,” Genome & Compa
The G20 High-Level Independent Panel (HLIP) has called for expanding investment into global public goods to get over the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change.“Member governments should invest more into disease surveillance, research networks, and expanding supplies to countries’ health and medical s
The government said Tuesday that Moderna has promised to speed up the planned shipments of the Covid-19 vaccine for August and September to make up for the recent supply cut.The U.S. vaccine maker made the promises during a recent meeting with the Korean delegation led by Vice Minister of Health and
Korean companies are actively studying how to use mRNA technology not only to fight Covid-19 but to treat cancer.In other countries, researchers are conducting clinical trials of a combination of mRNA vaccine and immunotherapy. Moderna teamed up with Merck, and CureVac/BioN Tech with Roche/Genetech,
Many parents are seeking newborn screening to identify the baby’s rare genetic disorders.However, a local newborn screening service is suspected of going beyond the legal line to run unauthorized genetic testing without the knowledge of parents and the doctor, industry sources said.During the proces
Researchers at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) have succeeded in developing an ultra-small multifunctional brain chip that can analyze brain activity from various angles.According to the institute, various neurotransmitters present in the brain play a key role in the signaling p
Myongji Hospital has been selected as the preferred bidder for an urban development project in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province.Hanam Urban Innovation Corp. said it chose a consortium, led by the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), as the preferred bidder for the H2 Project because the IBK consortium marked the
Healthcare companies worldwide are paying heated attention to the development of digital therapeutics (DTx) to grab an opportunity for future growth.DTx development takes a shorter time and a lower cost compared to new drug development. Also, some DTx products show effects in areas where new drug de
Multinational pharmaceutical companies in Korea had a difficult time in the first half of this year, with about 70 percent of their drugs showing sales drops in the outpatient subscription market, an industry researcher said.According to UBIST, a local market research firm, out of the total 11,354 m
Companies that provide drug delivery services for patients who received remote healthcare are expanding their business domain amid the protracted Covid-19 pandemic.Pharmacists pointed out that these platforms have taken advantage of the Covid-19 and began delivering over-the-counter drugs, which was
The government has lowered the age limit for those who can receive AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine to 30.The Special Immunization Committee said it maintains the recommended age for AZ vaccination at 50 years of age or older but decided to also provide the vaccine to those aged between 30 and 49 who