A domestic research team may have come close to creating a standard for Crohn’s disease regarding who and when certain patients should stop taking infliximab, known as Remicade.Infliximab, which has shown superior treatment effects for Crohn’s disease, can also create side effects such as infections or tumors if administered for long periods of time. However, stopping infliximab administration
A domestic research team has successfully developed an RNA-based microorganism that has an anticancer effect against colon cancer. RNA-based medical technology has been widely used for cancer target treatment, but there were limits in delivering selective RNA to cancer cells.Professor Yoon Won-suck from Korea University College of Medicine, Allergy Immunology Center, and Professor Kim Byun
Myongji Hospital and leading U.S.-based telehealth firm InTouch Health have partnered to test out a telehealth system in Korea, dubbed the “Korean Telehealth” pilot project, the hospital said.Myongji Hospital Chairman Lee Wang-jun and Yulun Wang, InTouch founder and chairman, signed a Memorandum of Agreement at InTouch Health headquarters in Santa Barbara, Calif., last Monday. R
Severance Hospital said Monday it has completed 200 cases of percutaneous transcatheter aortic valve implantations (TAVI) since the first implantation performed in 2011. TAVI is a minimally invasive procedure for replacing a cardiac aortic valve that has lost function due to aortic stenosis, or the narrowing of the exit of the left ventricle of the heart. It is a treatment option fo
Taking omega 3 supplements may have little impact on decreasing risk of heart disease, strokes, and death, a new Cochrane systemic study found, upsetting previous notions regarding the supplements positive effects on the heart.Alphalinolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are the main types of omega 3 fatty acids.The new systematic review published
Koreans in their 20s and 30s who are unemployed or in school will be eligible for free national medical checkups starting in 2019.“The government has decided to expand the benefits of a free medical checkup to students and jobless youth to prevent the worsening health index of young adults,” the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Thursday.The ministry will invest an additional 30 billion
Researchers from the National Cancer Center and Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) have developed a web-based cancer mutation analysis system dubbed the Mutalisk, the NCC said Thursday.The MUTation AnaLyIS toolKit (Mutalisk) is a system that reveals the characteristics of the mutations of a cancer patient’s somatic cells while also clarifying the cause and progression of
The Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF) and MSD Korea have selected Genexine’s HyLeukin-7 for use in a Keytruda (pembrolizumab) combination therapy trial, Genexine said Wednesday.With the support of KDDF, Genexine will conduct phase 1b/2 clinical trials for patients with triple-negative breast cancer. Patients with triple-negative breast cancer have faster disease progression and shorter overal
L&K Biomed has received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval Wednesday for its sacroiliac (SI) joint fusion system that applies the minimally invasive surgical (MIS) technique for the sacroiliac joint.Sacroiliac joint dysfunction, also called SI, joint pain, is caused by dysfunction in the SI joint that can cause lower back or leg pain. About 15 to 30 percent of lower back pain is
SK Bioscience is pursuing its growth strategy by expanding its vaccine production facility - dubbed the L House - located in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, the company said Wednesday.SK Bioscience, an SK Chemicals spinoff specializing in vaccines, signed a memorandum of understanding with the governor of North Gyeongsang Province and the mayor of Andong to expand the country’s largest vacc
ViroMed said Wednesday it acquired a DNA production facility in San Diego, Calif., as it is wrapping up a phase 3 trials for its plasmid DNA-based gene therapy drug, VM202.The facility, previously used to create DNA for various clinical trials, holds a 500-liter production tank used to develop the genetic codes. It also has the hardware infrastructure and soft assets that allow for commercial
Novo Nordisk Korea got the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s approval for its ultrafast-acting insulin aspart injection Fiasp FlexTouch (insulin aspart) to treat diabetes patients, the company said Wednesday.Fiasp is a new ultrafast-acting insulin drug that allows for safe, effective control of blood glucose rising rapidly after meals. Diabetes patients often have difficulty controlling p
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Wednesday it would allow patients with rare, incurable diseases and no other treatment options to import and use marijuana-derived drugs approved abroad.Pertinent patients should get a consultation letter from a physician and gain approval to import and use these drugs from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.The announcement came on the heels
A domestic research team has developed a potential for a new biomarker – raising the possibility of developing a new treatment method.Immunotherapies are becoming a new treatment method for patients not responsive to existing anticancer treatments. However, medical evidence regarding which immunotherapies are effective for which patients were lacking.A research team led by four professors
The number of Koreans in their 40s getting hair loss treatments is increasing, local data showed.Hair loss, common among older men, impacts how old - or young - a person looks. Male hair becomes thinner starting from their mid-20s, and female hair begins to get thinner in the late 40s.People belonging to the “Young 40” group are pursuing a young lifestyle by also actively seeking out h
Psoriasis patients see an average of three doctors and try four types of treatments before they achieve clear skin, a survey by Novartis showed.Novartis Korea published the results of the “Clear about Psoriasis” survey on 8,300 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, on Monday. Plaque psoriasis is a skin disease often characterized by itchy, painful, red patches.Most patients with the
Inje University Seoul Paik Hospital said it would begin to use simple mobile payment services such as Alipay and WeChat Pay on Friday.Patients and visitors will pay medical bills at Inje Hospital with the representative Chinese mobile payment services in addition to other mobile payment methods such as Samsung Pay and L.pay, the hospital said. Mobile pay services such as Alipay
Multinational pharmaceutical firms had more phase 3 trials underway in Korea while domestic drugmakers had more phase 1 trials in the past five years, data from the Ministry of Food and Safety showed.Clinical trials, comprised of mainly four stages, are essential to explore whether a treatment is safe and effective for people. All therapies must go through the four clinical trial stages to be
Access Bio is expanding its reach into Africa with its malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT), following another supply contract signing with distribution firm Partnership for Supply Chain Management.Related : Access Bio signs accord to supply malaria kit to UgandaWith the signing of the 1.3 billion won ($1.12 million) contract, Access Bio will provide its malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT)
The National Cancer Center said Monday it has transferred its patented technology used to develop anticancer therapies with genetically engineered T-cells to the biopharmaceutical startup, TiCARos.The patented technology transferred was “Mutant CTLA4 gene transfected T cell and a composition comprising it for anticancer immunotherapy” NCC said."This technology will be a new milestone i