Takeda Korea한국다케다제약 released its new drug Kynteles (compound: vedolizumab), the first integrin antagonist for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, Thursday.Kynteles is currently marketed in 45 countries. Its efficacy and integrated safety profile from six clinical trials have been built on more than 4,800 patient-years of exposure, while still receiving positive and promisi
Amgen Korea암젠코리아 has released Repatha (component: evolocumab), a treatment for homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic disorder characterized by high cholesterol levels in the blood.Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) is a rare hereditary endocrine disorder that occurs in about one in a million people in the world. Mutations take place in both pairs of LDL receptor gene
Asan Medical Center (AMC) has drastically shortened the time required for acute stroke treatment since it operated an emergency medical care system, the hospital said Wednesday.In about 80 percent of strokes, the number one cause of death in a single disease is ischemic strokes (cerebral infarction) that block blood vessels. It is important to puncture the clogged blood vessels as quickly as p
The second-quarter sales of Medytox메디톡스, a local biopharmaceutical company, hit a record high, breaking the record for 10 consecutive quarters.The company announced Monday that its sales in the April-June quarter totaled 47.5 billion won ($41.7 million), up 51 percent from the same period of last year. Operating profit grew 40 percent to 26.4 billion won, and net profit increased 29 percent to
Cha Biotech차바이오텍, the nation's largest stem-cell drug pipeline, turned a profit in the first half of this year, three years after its equity spinoff from Cha Diostech in 2014, the company said Monday.Cumulative sales for the first six months were 12 billion won ($10 million), up 33.1 percent, and cumulative operating profit, 1.1 billion won ($960,000).On a consolidated basis, second-qu
Domestic medical institutions are competing to develop customized services for the convenience and efficacy of patients.Many of these services include hospitals providing guidance services using KakaoTalk, the most popular messaging app in Korea with 130 million registered users.The Catholic University of Incheon St. Mary's Hospital인천성모병원 has been providing information on appointments and
Hanmi Pharmaceuticals said Friday it plans to recruit 200 people in the second half of this year, to beef up workforce for search and development.As investments in its biopharmaceutical plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, gets into full swing as a new bio-drug production base, Hanmi한미제약 (CEO Woo Jong-soo우종수 and Kwon Sae-chang권세창) will make most of the new recruitment in the biotechnology,
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has selected Chosun University Hospital as the first special regional hospital to deal with infectious diseases.Under a modified national preventive system, the government has sought to designate specialized hospitals for infectious diseases for different regions, to allow the public to receive treatment safely and promptly for high-r
Daewoong Pharmaceuticals대웅제약 (CEO Lee Jong-wook이종욱) has launched Centelight to treat venous insufficiency, and is planning to expand the market for venous disease-related therapies, the company said Friday.Venous insufficiency is a condition where the flow of blood through the veins is inadequate, causing blood to pool in the legs. Its causes are various such as working in the same posture for
Dr. Kang Se-hoon, former director of Seoul Sky Hospital and Seoul Surgical Hospital, had the entire nation in shock as the musician Shin Hae-chul died on his surgical table in late 2014.Kang performed gastric and intestinal adhesion detachment surgery and stomach reduction surgery on Shin using a celioscope. After these surgeries, however, Shin’s condition rapidly aggravated as he suffered fro
LG ChemLG화학 has launched a reagent that can check 93 allergy-causing substances, up sharply from the current 62, the company said Thursday.In 2008, LG Chem released the “AdvanSure AlloScreen reagent,” a multi-drug substance-testing product, for the first time in Korea, through research and development on the diagnosis of allergies with Yonsei University Medical School.The products laun
Korea United Pharmaceuticals has recently registered a patent for its combined oral formulation technology, with Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO).The registered patent, called “CombiGel Technology,” incorporates a tablet containing statin-based drug into a capsule containing an omega-3 fatty acid ester. According to the patent registration, Korea United한국유나이티드제약 (CEO Kang Deok-young강덕
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety reported measures to protect children from the harms of “nitrogen-laced snacks” to Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon이낙선 Wednesday.The ministry stressed the need to pay particular attention to the safety management of food enjoyed by children, including defective foods, and false labeling, considering that children are unaware of the consequences.An incident h
Philips Korea has appointed Seo Hong-pyo as vice president to head its personal health business featuring general consumer goods, the company said Wednesday.Seo서홍표, who had served in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) over the past two decades, is expected to take the lead in the growth of personal health business with rich experiences and innovative strategy, Philips Korea said in a press rele
Jeil Pharmaceuticals has begun the operation of its “state-of-the-art global smart factory” for its second takeoff by attaining annual sales of 1 trillion won ($880 million) by 2020, the company said Tuesday.Jeil제일약품(CEO Sung Suk-jae성석제) invested about 40 billion won into the construction of the smart factory since 2015, a three-floor building with a basement on a total floor space of 13,121
Novartis Korea announced Tuesday that its anti-arthritis drug Cosentyx (ingredient name: secukinumab) would receive insurance benefits. The Ministry of Health and Welfare보건복지부 has approved it for treating moderate to severe psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis.As these three diseases are subject to insurance coverage if a therapy meets eligibility criteria, patients will
Takeda Pharmaceuticals has made an exclusive licensing agreement with Tesaro Pharmaceuticals for developing and commercializing Niraparib, a novel poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor.Niraparib, first marketed in the U.S. in April under the brand name “Zejula,” has quickly become the most frequently prescribed PARP inhibitor.It is the first and only PARP inhibitor that has received
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced Monday that it would designate six new materials, including 5F-AB-FUPPYCA, as temporary narcotics, used illegally as substitutes for drugs.The other five substances are 5F-PCN, AB-CHFUPYCA, ADSB-FUB-187, JTE-7-31, and WIN 55,212-2.The narcotics are designated as the active ingredients of cannabis- tetrahydrocannabinol, a synthetic hemp fam
In the edgy streets of Hongdae and Itaewon, Seoul, more and more Koreans are casually revealing their tattoos inked in parts of their bodies. These are the signs of youthfulness and progression toward a more laid-back approach in a rigid society.An accident happened on July 17, however, dashing cold water on the growing tattoo craze, as police arrested a woman for tattooing more than 120 peopl
Liquid nitrogen snacks and drinks have been popular since last summer to beat off the heat and watch smoky nitrogen vapor exhale out of their mouths, making it a must-have item for children to eat.But fears are rising among parents after an incident happened last Thursday when a 12-year-old boy gulped down leftover liquid nitrogen from nitrogen-injected crackers, ending up with a perforated st