[더인베스터(코리아헤럴드)=박한나기자] 유럽 출시를 앞둔 셀트리온의 항암제 바이오시밀러 ‘트룩시마’와 ‘허쥬마’에 대한 현지 반응이 뜨거워지고 있다.16일 외신과 업계에 따르면, 유럽 의학계와 제약업계의 관심은 무엇보다 가격이다. 유럽의 경우 바이오시밀러가 기존 오리지널 치료제 대비 약 30% 저렴한 것을 감안하면 트룩시마와 허쥬마 역시 비슷한 수준으로 가격이 책정될 것으로 보인다. 영국 암연구센터(BICR) 최고경영자 폴 워크맨은 로이터에 “유럽의 암전문의들이 약효가 뛰어난 바이오시밀러를 낮은 가격에 구입할 수만 있다면 반응은 폭발적일 것”이라고 말했다. 유럽은 세계에서 가장 큰 바이오시밀러 시장이지만 그 동안은 북유럽과 독일에서 판매가 집중된 것이 사실이다. 지난주 영국종양약료협회는 항체바이오시밀러를 항암치료에 적극적으로 활용하겠다며 처방비율을 전체 국립병원 환자 90%까지 끌어올리겠다고 밝혔다. 트룩시마와 허쥬마의 오리지널 치료제인 로슈사의 리툭산과 허셉틴은 영국내 판매만 연

[더인베스터(코리아헤럴드)=박한나 기자] 셀트리온이 혈액암 항암제인 트룩시마의 피하주사(SC) 제형 개발에 대한 업계의 기대감에 아직 “시기상조”라는 입장을 내놨다. 셀트리온 관계자는 18일 더인베스터에 “트룩시마는 아직 유럽의약품청의 허가를 기다리고 있는 상태로 아직 제형 다각화 계획까지는 밝힐 단계가 아니다”고 밝혔다. 　트룩시마는 스위스 제약기업 로쉬가 개발한 혈액암치료제 리툭산의 복제약으로 올 1분기 유럽 승인을 기다리고 있고 미국 FDA 승인 신청도 상반기 중으로 진행할 예정이다. 　업계에서는 트룩시마의 글로벌경쟁력을 높이는데 필수적인 피하주사제형 개발에 주목하고 있다. 　고가의 의약품을 낮은 가격에 이용할 수 있는 바이오시밀러의 장점과 더불어 투여시간이 획기적으로 줄어들어 기존 정맥투여방식보다 환자의 편의성이 크게 향상되기 때문이다. 　특히 바이오시밀러의 공세에 몰린 로슈가 지난해 유럽서 피하투여용 리툭산에 대한 승인을 받으면서 셀트리온도 피하주사제형 개발에 서둘러야 한다

[코리아헤럴드(더인베스터)=박한나 기자] 두산그룹이 인도네시아의 경제특구지역에 발전소 건립을 추진한다. 7일 인도네시아 현지 언론에 따르면 최근 두산그룹 관계자들은 탄중 아피아피(Tanjung Api-Api) 경제특수지역을 방문해 이 지역에 발전소와 수처리시스템 등 사업을 추진하는데 관심을 표명한 것으로 알려졌다. 남수마트라주 주지사 알렉스 노어든은 두산그룹 관계자들이 방문 당시 남수마트라주 정부 및 인도네시아 상공회의소 관계자들과 사업 의사를 타진했다고 밝혔다. 현재 남수마트라주는 2018년 하계 아시안게임 개최에 맞춰 탄중 아피아피 지역에 대규모의 경제특구지역 개발을 추진하고 있어  에너지인프라 구축이 필수적인 상황이다.지난 5월 한국가스공사도 남수마트라 주정부기업인 PDPDE와 이 지역에 6억달러 규모의 363km 가스 배관사업 추진 관련 양해각서 체결한 바 있다. (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)　<원본 영문 기사>Doosan seeks to build power p

[THE INVESTOR] Five potential buyers including SM Group have submitted their preliminary bids for troubled Hanjin Shipping’s Asia-US route, industry sources said on Oct. 28. “We will decide on placing a final bid after conducting due diligence of the asset value of the route,” the company said. Hyundai Merchant Marine, which is currently under a creditor-led restructuring program, also bid for the route sale which includes offices and vessels that operate on the trans-Pacific trade. The Seoul Ce

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s Hanmi Pharmaceutical will embark on Phase 3 clinical trials of its long-acting diabetes treatments in 2017, the company said on Oct. 27. The late-stage study on so-called GLP-1 diabetes treatments, which was initially set to begin in the fourth quarter this year, was delayed as production of the drug fell behind schedule, according to the drug maker. In 2015, French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi obtained an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize the tr

[DISCLOSURE] Samsung SDI (006400), an affiliate of Samsung Electronics, said on Oct. 27 that it will purchase treasury stocks worth 298 billion won (US$261.17 million) to level up the stock price. The share buyback includes 3.3 million shares of its common stock and 70,000 shares of preferred stock. The stock repurchase plan will be completed by Jan. 27, 2017. (theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

[DISCLOSURE] Samsung Engineering (028050), South Korea’s largest builder of engineering projects, swung to an operating profit of 53.2 billion won (US$46.62 million) in the third quarter, the company said on Oct. 27. Revenue came to 1.63 trillion won in the July-September period, surging 90.3 percent from a year earlier. Net income also turned to the black to reach 2.1 billion won. (theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea‘s Celltrion Healthcare will ship 260 billion won (US$227.81 million) worth of a Remicade biosimilar developed by its affiliate Celltrion to the US by the end of 2016, the company said on Oct. 27. Celltrion Healthcare, drug maker Celltrion’s overseas marketing affiliate, received a purchase order from US pharma giant Pfizer which holds exclusive rights to commercialize Celltrion’s autoimmune disease drug Inflectra, a biosimilar version of Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade, i

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s state-run National Pension Services, which oversees over 540 trillion won (US$473 billion), will pour 1 trillion won into local equities by the end of this year, the public pension fund said on Oct. 26. In early November, the NPS will pick 12 asset management companies to run the fund who will be divided into three groups based on their investment specializations -- value stock, small and mid-cap stock and those who use quantitative stock selection techniques. Indust

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean drug maker Hanmi Pharmaceutical said on Oct. 27 that its operating profit plunged 61.6 percent in the third quarter compared with the previous year when the firm’s revenue surged after winning a blockbuster licensing deal from German pharma giant Boehringer Ingelheim. Operating profit came to 13.77 billion won (US$12.10 million) on consolidated basis, while sales decreased 18.1 percent to 219.72 billion won in the quarter ended on Sept. 30. It swung to a net profit of

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean internet giant Naver on Thursday reported that its third-quarter revenue surged 20.5 percent on-year to reach 1.01 trillion won ($890 million), led by growing sales from its overseas and mobile businesses. 　It is the first time ever that Naver’s quarterly earnings have surpassed 1 trillion won, the company said in a regulatory filing. In the July-September period, Naver’s operating profit surged 27.6 percent from a year earlier to 282.3 billion won. Its consolidated n

[THE INVESTOR] Naver, South Korea’s top internet portal operator, will continue to maintain a dividend payout ratio of 30 percent, the company said on Oct. 27. “Since 2009, we have been giving 30 percent of net income to shareholders and we will continue to do so,” Naver said during a conference call to discuss its third-quarter financial and operating results. It also added that the company has no plan to retire its treasury stocks. The company's net profit surged 69.5 percent from a year earli

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s two institutional investors have made an investment in aircraft financing for French flag carrier Air France, according to sources on Oct. 26. Public Officials Benefit Association and Korea Federation of SMEs invested US$34 million through mezzanine financing in a Boeing B777-300ER that will be leased to Air France on a 7-year term with an expected annual return of 5 to 6 percent a year. Air France seeks to secure a total of US$115.7 million for the jet in which some

[THE INVESTOR] Sungjee Construction, South Korea’s midsized builder, has decided to merge with its subsidiary IB Pharm in a bid to diversify its business portfolio to the pharmaceutical sector, the company said on Oct. 26. IB Pharm is a wholesale distributor of pharma and medical products, which is entirely owned by Sungjee Construction.The builder said the merger would help the company to increase business efficiency as it could reduce consumption of resources and manpower than keeping IB Pharm

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s cosmetics maker CLIO, which seeks to get listed on the Seoul bourse next month, will target China’s growing color makeup market, the firm said on Oct. 24. “Cosmetics are now regarded as a tool to express ‘myself’ departing from its traditional role of protecting skin. The trend is remarkably strong among Chinese youngsters,” CLIO’s chief executive Han Hyun-ok said during a press conference in Seoul. On the back of K-beauty boom, CLIO has been expanding its foothold i

[THE INVESTOR] China’s Great Rich Technologies got approval on Oct. 24 from the Korea Exchange to list on South Korea’s secondary KOSDAQ market. The stock trading will kick off on Oct. 25 with the initial offering price of 5,000 won (US$4.41). Korea Exchange headquartersEstablished in 2012, Hong Kong-based Great Rich Technologies is a holding company of its subsidiary that manufactures optical and protective film. GRT posted a net profit of 164.5 billion won (US$144.9 million) and a sale of 35 b

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s major air carriers Korean Air Lines, Asiana Airlines and Jeju Air are expected to beat earnings estimates in the third quarter thanks to rising air traffic and low oil prices, a local brokerage said on Oct. 24. According to Samsung Securities, the combined revenue and operating profit of the three air carriers are likely to increase 7.4 percent and 59 percent to log 5 trillion won (US$4.47 billion) and 597.1 billion won, respectively, in the July-September period. An

[THE INVESTOR] France’s state-run shipyard DCNS is mulling a bid to acquire STX France, the French unit of South Korea’s troubled shipyard STX Offshore & Shipbuilding which is under court receivership, according to industry sources on Oct. 21. Since the Korean bankruptcy court announced on Oct. 19 that it would sell its entire stake in STX Shipbuilding and a 66.7 percent stake in STX France, speculation has been rising about potential bidders, including DCNS. The price of the package deal is est

[THE INVESTOR] Daewha Pharmaceutical  said on Oct. 20 that it has terminated its contract with Taiwan’s LOTUS Pharmaceutical to export their co-developed topical anesthetic topical lidocaine patch 5%. The South Korean drug maker blamed LOTUS for the fallout of the 42.3 billion won deal, saying the Taiwanese partner failed to receive regulatory approvals in China, Europe and the US for the local anesthetic patch, which was one of the preconditions of the contract. Daehwa said it will receive US$3

[THE INVESTOR] Englewood Lab shares soared more than 65 percent above their initial public offering price on Oct. 20 after its stock market debut on South Korea’s secondary KOSDAQ last week. Shares in the US cosmetics ingredient manufacture climbed 21.69 percent to close at 9,930 won (US$8.81), against their 6,000 won initial sale price. This is in stark contrast to its first day on the stock market when the share price tumbled 12.68 percent. Established in 2004, the ODM company has provided ski