A human life is not only determined by the genomic structure, but also by what types of viruses and microbiomes the body interacts with. CEO Yang Gap-seok of Macrogen, a company that has recently been touted as an essential cogwheel in the research to understand the novel coronavirus, says that what COVID-19 is doing will affect our short-term evolution. The company Yang represents has been leading the research for the virus specific to Korea. Macrogen was the first to identify nine muta

The outbreak and containment of the novel coronavirus in South Korea have drawn international attention to the country’s ready use of real-time polymerase chain reaction test kits. Korea has allowed for the emergency use of new RT-PCR kits, with which the nation is conducting around 10,000 tests daily at some 90 collaborating research labs, according to the Korean Society of Laboratory Medicine. In the month or so between Feb. 7 and March 10, over 350,000 tests were analyzed at private i

Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin said Monday that the company will be ready to produce COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies by the end of July at the latest, at a capacity to cover 1 million people a month. The company’s researchers are currently working day and night without weekends, Seo said, saying that it may even be possible to begin human administration for clinical trials in mid-July. “It is our wish that Korea will become the first country to deliver a COVID-19 vaccine to th

Even as foreign companies across the globe are increasingly suspending operations of production facilities and offices, South Korean firms are once again gearing up for full business operations. 　Major Korean companies that had advised employees to work from home amid the spread of COVID-19 are now reopening offices as the situation in Europe and the US drastically worsens, hiking concerns of a global economic meltdown. 　Despite reports of global facilities shutting down, and the commercial p

Samsung Electronics launched nine models of 2020 quantum-dot light-emitting diode TVs on Thursday. The company said it has expanded its QLED 8K models by twofold from before, to increase consumer options and its dominance in the 8K TV market. The 2020 QLED 8K from Samsung Electronics are categorized by series names QT970S, QT900S and QT800, offered in screen sizes ranging from 55 to 85 inches. The smallest 55-inch model will launch within the first half of the year, Samsung said. The most

As a journalist, my job is to get around. The ideal rut of this job is to be constantly on foot, meet people, glean information, fact-check, and package the story in a way you, reader, would find relevant and stay to read to the end. But truth be told, like many others in South Korea right now, I haven’t been getting around much. Not since the COVID-19 outbreak here took a serious turn for the worse. It will soon be a month since I started telecommuting and social distancing. I’m

LG Display nabbed the top seat in 2019’s automotive display market, edging out Japan Display, IHS Markit data showed Wednesday. LG Display recorded $1.6 billion revenue in the automotive display segment last year, accounting for 20.1 percent of market domination. The company manufactures center information displays for cars, dashboard, and rear seat entertainment display panels. Japan Display, which had previously been ahead in the game, marked $1.1 billion revenue in 2019 and took u

Global health care company Johnson & Johnson has donated 200 million won ($161,000) of relief goods to medical professionals and low-income families in Korea to help alleviate the COVID-19 situation, the company said Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson’s four operations in Korea -- Medical, Janssen, Vision and Consumer -- collaborated with the Salvation Army here in distributing 20,000 KF94 masks and 4,000 emergency relief kits. “Our heart goes out for those who are fighting the s

Samsung Biologics said Tuesday it has signed a deal to develop Taiwanese bio firm Aprinoia’s Alzheimer’s disease treatment. Aprinoia Therapeutics is a bioventure with specialized technology in diagnostic devices and treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. It is a leader and pioneer in the development of monoclonal antibodies against the tau protein, known to be the key trigger of Alzheimer’s. The tau protein is what binds and stabilizes the internal structures within br

Celltrion Healthcare launched breast cancer and stomach cancer treatment Herzuma in the US market through local partner Teva Pharmaceutical. The company said Tuesday that Herzuma (trastuzumab) will be 10 percent cheaper than the original Roche drug, Herceptin. The cost of the drug to US patients will vary depending on their individual insurance plans, Celltrion Healthcare said. The trastuzumab market in North America was worth 3.8 trillion won ($3 billion won) as of the third quarter of 2019

Scientists from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said Monday that they have successfully developed nanofabric mask filters that can withstand at least 20 washes and used for a month. Masks have become a high priority in South Korea since the outbreak of COVID-19. Their scarcity and the opportunistic profiteering that ensued have made the government put a cap on exports, and ration the filter mask purchases to two per person on a weekly basis. With more people resorting t

Celltrion said Monday its Cheongju plant passed the US’ Food and Drug Administration’s additional inspection, opening up the path to a 1.2 trillion won ($985 million) human immunodecifiency treatment market. Celltrion manufactures three-drug-in-one-tablet HIV treatment CT-G07 at its plant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The treatment is pending FDA approval for US commercialization. FDA had carried out an on-site inspection of Celltrion’s Cheongju plant in January to

Korean companies Genexine and Binex will jointly develop potential COVID-19 vaccine “GX-19,” in hopes of preventing yearly seasonal flus showing respiratory symptoms, the companies said Monday. GX-19 will be a DNA vaccine, developed using Genexine’s platform technology and manufactured at Binex’s “good manufacturing practice”-abiding facility. A DNA vaccine involves a DNA delivery vector fitted with the genetic information of a particular virus, to which the

Five days into the South Korean government’s attempt to create a streamlined system by rationing masks to two per person and establishing designated purchasing days each week depending on the purchaser’s birth year, apps and websites are springing to life to provide real-time information on mask stocks at government-appointed outlets. Some of these services are the work of independent developers turned Good Samaritans, while others come from internet portal and telecom businesses.

Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin on Thursday took to YouTube live to share the group’s ongoing efforts on coronavirus cure development, which he foresees will reach human clinical trial stage in six months’ time. “Under normal circumstances, the process takes around 18 months, but given the emergency in South Korea, we will closely communicate with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to initiate our antibody’s use on confirmed patients after six months,” Seo said.

US researchers from the University of Tennessee have identified 77 molecules that show potential to impair COVID-19’s ability to infect host cells, IBM said Thursday. They made the discovery with the help of simulations using supercomputer Summit. Viruses like COVID-19 infect cells by binding to them and using “spikes” to inject their genetic material into the host cells. To understand a new microorganism, researchers grow it and test its reaction to new compounds. The proce

South Korea’s mobile game powerhouse Netmarble is betting on a new genre that crosses massively multiplayer online role-playing and battle royal. The experimental product A3: Still Alive was launched on Thursday to a fervent response from domestic game enthusiasts. In January, Netmarble’s CEO Kwon Young-sig made a rare attendance at a press event to express deep expectations on this new game, saying that the convergence of MMORPRG -- a genre popular among Korean players -- and ba

Foreign pharmaceutical companies operating in Korea are reaching out to those needing most help amid the coronavirus spread here. Medical device company GE Healthcare Korea said Thursday it will donate ultrasound and patient monitoring equipment worth 210 million won ($174,000) to the doctors in North Gyeongsang Province, while Novartis Korea has donated 30,000 masks for low-income households. GE Healthcare will donate GE Venue Go, an artificial intelligence-enabled ultrasound machine, and p

“This is my third week of telecommuting, and I’m feeling down for lack of human communication. Is this enough reason to receive psychological counseling?” is a question one can ask for free in South Korea amid the coronavirus situation.　 The Korea Psychological Association, together with the nation’s disease control body, said Wednesday that it would provide free counseling for anyone needing emotional care through the COVID-19 scare. Some 48 counseling sessions are pr

  PUBG Corp. said Monday that CEO Kim Chang-han, developer of its eponymous game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, will take on the dual role as head of Krafton. 　The appointment is viewed by the game industry as Krafton Chairman Chang Byung-kyu’s strategy to raise the company’s market valuation for its rumored year-end initial public offering. 　Krafton is the parent company of game studios PUBG, Bluehole, Pnix, Red Sahara, Delusion and En Masse Entertainment. 　Chairman C