Pharmaceutical industry officials criticized the government for providing almost no support to nurture the local active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) sector.The Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association (KPBMA) and Rep. Nam In-soon of the Democratic Party hosted a debate on rev
The government is considering expanding the targets of its fourth-shot vaccination program to people in their 50s to minimize damage from the upcoming sixth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.It currently provides the second booster shot to older adults 60 and older, the immunocompromised, and those who
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has suspended the import of GSK’s disposable biopsy punch for three months. The suspension began last Friday and will continue through Oct. 7.The disposable 6-mm biopsy punch, primarily used in dermatology clinics for therapeutic, diagnostic, and research purpose
The health authorities said they would distribute Omicron subvariants to support the development of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments.The National Culture Collection for Pathogens (NCCP), run under the Korea National Institute of Health’s Center for Infectious Disease Research, said it would distribu
“I’m a father of a loving daughter in her 20s. I’m going through painful days because my daughter has been receiving gruesome chemotherapy for over a year after she was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer last year. Then, I heard the news that a new drug (Enhertu) with an excellent anticancer ef
The government on Friday made an official judgment that Covid-19 has shifted to an expansionary phase, alerting the public against the renewed pandemic.It was the de facto confirmation of the pandemic’s resurge in the country, and the quarantine authorities plan to announce countermeasures, includin
As new Covid-19 cases have returned to an upward trend, Thursday’s daily tally nearly doubled that of the previous week.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 18,511 new virus cases, including 194 cases from overseas, pushing the cumulative caseload to 18,451,862. The daily
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it ended the monitoring of cold medicines on Monday because the shortage of such drugs has been resolved.ministry’s drug management division sent a letter to the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association (KPBMA), saying the government wou
With Covid-19 cases back on the rise, the government said it would enhance the nation's quarantine system to prepare for a possible summer resurge.Health officials said they decided to secure more hospital beds for Covid-19 patients and those requiring special treatments such as childbirth and dialy
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) designated four substances including 1V-LSD as narcotics temporarily for three years. The four are being used as substitutes for narcotics.The regulator put 1V-LSD in Class 1 temporary narcotics, and CH-PIATA, Class 2 temporary narcotics.1V-LSD has a struc
In Korea, the obesity treatment Qsymia (ingredient: phentermine, topiramate) is banned for people aged 16 or younger because one of the ingredients, phentermine, is classified as a narcotic.In the U.S., however, the FDA approved Qsymia in patients aged 12 years and older with obesity.The FDA recentl
Amid the ongoing rebound of new virus cases, alarm bells ringing in various corners of society herald an earlier-than-expected summer resurge. The quarantine authorities warned that if another wave comes this summer, the daily virus tally could reach 200,000.Korea added 6,253 Covid-19 infections on
With the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe V. Wade ending the constitutional right to abortion on June 24, attention is on how the ruling will impact prescriptions of abortion-inducing medications.Roe v. Wade was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 that recognized women’s “right
The government has unified the names of all medical institutions that provide treatment for Covid-19 as "Respiratory Patient Treatment Center" as of Friday.Among the 12,601 Respiratory Patient Treatment Centers secured by quarantine officials, the government designated 6,206 "one-stop" Covid-19 trea
Korea ranked first in the “Covid Resilience Ranking," an index evaluated by Bloomberg, a U.S. media company, on which country is the best to live in during the Covid-19 pandemic.Bloomberg has published the rankings of 53 countries every month since November 2020, when the world reported the first Co
Various experts in the Asia-Pacific region are now stressing the need to focus on routine care as the Covid-19 pandemic enters an endemic phase."A return to routine care is urgently needed to prevent non-Covid-19-related deaths," Professor Ivan Hung, chief of the Infectious Disease Division at the U
Revlimid maintenance therapy to treat multiple myeloma (MM) passed the health insurance review agency’s reimbursement review four years after winning the license in Korea.The review committee also expanded the reimbursement criteria for immunotherapy Opdivo (nivolumab), which obtained broadened indi
The RIGHT (Research Investment for Global Health Technology) Fund said Thursday that it opened this year’s first request for proposals for Product Development Award (PDA) and Evidence Generation Award (EGA).It would receive them until Aug. 16.Both awards are research grants to support infectious dis
SK Bioscience said Wednesday that the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved the use of SKYCovione, the country's first homegrown Covid-19 vaccine.SKYCovione has applied GSK's immune enhancer AS03 to strengthen immune response and induce high levels of neutralizing antibodies, the company said. S
The government said Wednesday that Korea has confirmed more than 10,000 daily Covid-19 cases for the first time in 20 days.The country added 10,463 new Covid-19 infections, including 205 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,349,756, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA)