More research into proteomics -- the study of the collection of proteins in the human body -- could infinitely upgrade the diagnosis sector so that all types of diseases can be easily detected in the early stages, a proteomics expert said. “There are diseases that have limited relations with DNA and genomics, such as depression and cardiovascular diseases. On the other hand, protein is involved in most biological activities so there is a wide range of areas that can be dealt with proteom

A dispute between Kakao Corp. management and its labor union is growing over the IT giant’s rumored attempt to sell its transportation service subsidiary Kakao Mobility to private equity firm MBK Partners. Kakao’s labor union on Wednesday accused the management of giving up on its mobility business, questioning if the sell-off to the private equity fund can help the business grow. According to the union’s statement, Kakao Corp. said its mobility platform cannot grow anymore

K-pop girl group aespa on Friday premiered the title track “Girls” of their second EP on the opening stages of the Good Morning America’s summer concert at the Rumsey Playfield in the Central Park in New York. According to the group’s agency S.M. Entertainment, aespa became to the first K-pop girl group to perform at the summer concert series hosted by ABC, a major US television network.   The four-member group also delivered performances of “Black Mamba

Korean American mathematician June Huh on Wednesday underlined the importance of communication and collaboration when it comes to solving difficult problems in mathematics, a day after he became the first person of Korean descent to win the internationally prestigious Fields Medal. “The charming point of mathematics is that collaborative research has become very active in today’s mathematics,” Huh said in a press conference at the Korea Institute for Advanced Study in Seoul.

Korean American mathematician June Huh has won this year’s prestigious Fields Medal to become the first person of Korean descent to receive the prestigious international award. The Fields Medal, widely regarded as the Nobel Prize of mathematics, is given to mathematicians under the age of 40 for significant contributions to the field of mathematics at the International Congress of Mathematicians held every four years. The ICM, organized by the International Mathematical Union, took pla

South Korean companies are dashing to develop diagnostic kits for monkeypox as the country confirmed the first case of the rare infectious disease last month. A number of firms that had success with the development of COVID-19 diagnostic kits in the earlier days of the pandemic, including Bioneer, Boditech Med, Genes Laboratories, Seasun Biomaterials, Seegene and Wells Bio, have already developed testing kits for monkeypox. According to companies, most Korean-made diagnostic kits can show th

SK팜테코가 자회사 SK바이오텍 아일랜드 공장 증설에 3,000만 달러(약 389억 원)를 추가 투자한다. SK바이오텍 아일랜드를 이끄는 조이스 피츠해리스 사장은 코리아헤럴드와의 이메일 인터뷰에서 이와같이 추가 투자계획을 밝히면서 “2단계에 걸친 (증설) 자금은 총 6,500만 달러로 예상된다”고 말했다. 지난달 SK팜테코는 더블린시에 위치한 SK바이오텍 공장 확장을 위해 먼저 3,500만 달러를 투자한다고 발표하면서, 2024년 완공을 목표로 증설이 두 단계로 나눠서 진행될 것이라고 밝혔다. 완공시 SK바이오텍의 총생산 용량은 50% 증가하게 된다. 2단계 투자액이 조금 적은 이유에 대해 피츠해리스 사장은 ”1단계 증설의 활용도를 극대화하기 위해 대부분의 부대시설이 1단계 증설로 설치된다“고 설명했다. SK는 지난 2017년 세계적 제약회사인 브리스톨마이어스스큅으로부터 아일랜드 공장을 인수했고, 사명을 SK바이오텍 아일랜드로 바꿨다

SK Pharmteco, a global contract development and manufacturing organization under South Korean conglomerate SK Group, will invest an additional $30 million (39 billion won) for the second phase expansion of its subsidiary SK Biotek’s Irish pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, an executive told The Korea Herald. “The total funding over the two phases is expected to be $65 million -- $35 million for phase one and an additional $30 million planned for the second phase expansion,” s

LG Electronics and S.M. Entertainment unveiled on Thursday their joint venture -- Fitness Candy -- to target the home training market by offering digital workout content. The joint venture will have the home appliance maker develop an application, cloud server, online platforms, and necessary devices such as muscle-training equipment, indoor bicycle and smartband for Fitness Candy’s home fitness services. LG's counterpart, S.M. Entertainment will take the charge of providing various cont

South Korea has authorized its first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine, finally securing vaccine sovereignty almost 30 months after the pandemic began. The government on Wednesday announced the official approval of SKYCovione, a recombinant protein-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by SK Bioscience, after the final examination committee held a meeting to review the previous assessments earlier in the day. “The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety thoroughly verified safety and efficacy through a t

Local gene therapy biotech firm Helixmith will announce the results of Engensis’ second phase 3 clinical trials for diabetic peripheral neuropathy next month, officials said Tuesday. “We were hoping to announce the results of Engensis’ second phase 3 clinical trials today, but the (independent Data Monitoring Committee) has requested additional data,” said Kim Sun-young, CEO of Helixmith, in a press conference. According to the CEO, the requested documents included En

The South Korean government will invest 24.7 trillion won ($19.2 billion) into the country’s research and development efforts in 2023, a 1.7 percent increase on year, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Tuesday. According to the ministry, the R&D budget is focused on the three pillars of strengthening strategic investment for developing core technologies, working towards carbon neutrality and achieving digital transformation. The ministry said it plans to invest a total of 1.1 tri

South Korea’s drug regulators are looking to announce the final approval of the country‘s first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine before the end of this week, officials said Monday. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Council concluded that SK Bioscience’s request for the approval of SKYCovione‘s biologics license application could be granted in a meeting on the previous day. A total of 23 outside experts and regulatory authori

South Korea is inching closer to approving its first homegrown vaccine with expectations that the government’s official announcement could come as early as next week. According to pharmaceutical industry sources Friday, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has been considering the review process for SK Bioscience’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate GBP510 since the company submitted a request for the approval of its biologics license application under the name “SKYCovione” in

South Korean researchers have found a new cause behind the memory impairment in Alzheimer’s disease, the Institute for Basic Science said Thursday. The researchers at IBS and Korea Institute for Science and Technology have pinpointed a process, the urea cycle, that takes place in astrocytes, which are star-shaped cells that take up over half of all brain cells. An activated urea cycle aggravated the memory loss in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, according to their study publishe

Nuri rocket's performance test satellite launched into the Earth’s 700-kilometer orbit has successfully made its first two-way communication with the ground control center, completing the final steps of the launch mission, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Wednesday. According to the ministry, the satellite that was sent into space on the Nuri rocket yesterday made two-way communication with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute’s ground control center in Daejeon at around 3 a.m

South Korea’s homegrown rocket Nuri is ready for blastoff on Tuesday, with hopes to deliver a complete and successful launch this time to officially signal the country’s entrance into the global space race. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute said Monday that Nuri, also known as the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II, has been erected on the launch pad at Naro Space Center in the southern coastal village of Goheung, South Jeolla Province. “Starting around 11 or 11:30 a.m. tom

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission is looking to impose sanctions against AstraZeneca over allegations that the global pharmaceutical firm colluded with a local firm to hinder the launch of cheaper generic drugs. The FTC has recently sent out an audit report to the two drug makers, according to industry sources on Monday. The audit report, which is considered as a prosecutor’s indictment, contained the regulator’s opinion that AstraZeneca provided financial benefits to Alvoge

SAN DIEGO -- Over 250 Korean companies participated in this year’s BIO International Convention, the world’s largest biotechnology industry gathering that took place in person for the first time in three years. Except in the cases of big companies such as Celltrion and Samsung Biologics, most of the small biotech companies were scrapping to present their pipelines and technologies to the global market in hopes that investors and global big pharmaceutical companies will take notice.

KT and Hanmi Pharmaceutical have jointly invested in digital therapeutics developer Digital Pharm, officials said Sunday. With the investment, KT will be in charge of developing platforms for digital therapeutics, drafting business strategies and providing pipelines. Meanwhile, Hanmi plans to maximize synergetic impact through hospital-specialized marketing and supporting the authorization of digital medical devices. Digital Pharm’s first projects are in digital therapeutics and electro