LG Chem announced Thursday that the company received positive results from the phase 2 clinical trial of its gout treatment candidate LC350189 in the US. LC350189 is a novel nonpurine selective inhibitor of xanthine oxidase, which oxidizes both hypoxanthine and xanthine to uric acid. High uric acid levels can increase the risk of gout. The phase 2 clinical trial in the US, which involved 156 patients, showed efficacy of the gout treatment candidate in lowering uric acid levels, accordi

South Korean diagnostics company Seegene said Thursday that the company has partnered with Bio-Rad Laboratories for the clinical development and commercialization of diagnostic products in the US. Under the agreement, Seegene will provide the company’s diagnostic tests for use on Bio-Rad’s molecular diagnostic CFX96 Dx Real-Time PCR Detection Systems. The contract will run for five years from the date that the two companies win approvals from the US Food and Drug Administration.

South Korea’s COVID-19 vaccine candidates can be evaluated through comparison with previously authorized vaccines. This means domestic vaccine developers will no longer have to recruit large control groups for a phase 3 clinical trial. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Wednesday, the government has revised guidelines for phase 3 clinical trials in a bid to accelerate the development of homegrown vaccines against COVID-19. Under the new rules, drugmakers would need j

South Korean biopharmaceutical companies have joined forces to co-develop and co-produce 100 million doses of a homegrown messenger RNA vaccine for COVID-19 next year, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Tuesday. Dubbed the “K-mRNA vaccine consortium,” it will be led by three major firms -- Hanmi Pharmaceutical, GC Pharma and ST Pharm -- and backed by the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association and the Korea Innovative Medicines Consortium, a gr

Hanmi Pharmaceutical said Tuesday that efpeglenatide, its long-acting diabetes drug candidate, had significantly reduced the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events and kidney disease, quoting the results of phase 3 clinical trials. Sanofi, which has purchased the license for efpeglenatide from Hanmi, presented the results of the global, large-scale clinical trial at the American Diabetes Association’s 81st Scientific Sessions. The phase 3 clinical trial involved 4,076 patient

South Korean firms operating large-scale factories in Vietnam have forked out tens of billions of won for the Southeast Asian country’s COVID-19 vaccines procurement plan, Korean media outlets reported said Sunday. To date, Samsung Electronics has offered 2 billion won ($1.7 million) to Vietnam’s central government and 770 million won to local governments. The amount is the largest donation made by a multinational company operating in Vietnam to the country’s vaccine supply

South Korean conglomerates that operate large manufacturing facilities will start vaccinating their workers in line with the government’s efforts to boost the nationwide COVID-19 inoculation drive. Samsung Electronics will start the administration of Moderna‘s COVID-19 vaccine to its workers at its in-house clinics from July 27, according to industry sources Sunday. The firm notified its employees of the plan Friday, asking employees aged 18 to 59 at its plants and research faci

Gmarket reported sharp increases in sales of vouchers for hairdressing salons, restaurant meals and cinema seats, the e-commerce giant said Thursday, calling it a sign that consumption is recovering. Sales of restaurant vouchers between May 21 and June 20 rose 67 percent on-year at Gmarket, while sales of movie tickets and vouchers for hairdressing salons respectively soared 183 percent and 365 percent on-year, the firm added. Auction, another one of the country’s major online shopping

Medytox will begin a phase three clinical trial of its next-generation botulinum toxin treatment MBA-P01, according to an announcement from the company Thursday. The firm’s investigational new drug application for the new botulinum toxin treatment gained approval the previous day from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Medytox will carry out the study at four local medical institutes on a total of 318 people with moderate to severe glabellar frown lines. The firm has been developi

Winia Dimchae, a South Korean home appliance brand specializing in kimchi fridges, announced Wednesday that the company would begin local sales of its ultra-low temperature freezer for COVID-19 vaccines, named Medibox. According to Winia, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has recently granted approval for the company’s Medibox, developed by WInia‘s telecommunications apparatus affiliate Dayou Plus. The new vaccine storage system has been categorized as a blood bank refrigerato

South Korea’s combined exports of cosmetics products increased 16.1 percent to 8.28 trillion won ($7.28 billion) in 2020, ranking third in the world, following France and the US, data showed Monday. According to the data released by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, China was the biggest importer of South Korean cosmetic products last year at $3.8 billion, followed by Hong Kong with $714 million, the United States with $640 million and Japan with $639 million. Vietnam’s imports

Celltrion founder Seo Jung-jin’s eldest son Seo Jin-seok has obtained a seat in the boardroom of Iksuda Therapeutics, a UK-based antibody-drug conjugates developer, according to industry sources Monday. The latest change in Iksuda‘s boardroom came after Celltrion and Mirae Asset Group announced earlier this month a $47 million joint investment in Iksuda to acquire a controlling stake of the British company. According to Celltrion, Iksuda has agreed with the appointment of Seo Jin

South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion’s monoclonal antibody treatment Regkirona, or CT-P59, has shown initial promise in treating patients infected with COVID-19 variants, the company said Friday, quoting preclinical results from its recent animal test. Celltrion said it found that the injection of its COVID-19 treatment Regkirona significantly reduced viral titers in 50 experimental mice infected with the South African variant. The mice injected with Regkirona showed a 100 p

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has granted approval for a phase 2a clinical trial of Engensis, an investigational gene therapy for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, under development by South Korean biotechnology company Helixmith, the company said Thursday. Engensis is a gene therapy that utilizes a plasmid, a small circular DNA molecule, to provide the hepatocyte growth factor gene to patients’ nerve and nerve-supporting cells, whi

South Korean biotechnology company Cha Biotech has received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for its plan to conduct a phase 1 clinical trial of a hepatitis B third-generation vaccine, the firm said Thursday. Following the green light, Cha Vaccine Institute, the firm’s vaccine development subsidiary, will begin administrating the vaccine candidate to adults between the ages of 19-65, aiming to complete the study by October 2023. The hepatitis B vaccine candidate is dev

In South Korea, real-time information on leftover COVID-19 vaccines is available to everyone on the country’s No. 1 portal Naver and No. 1 messenger app KakaoTalk. Thanks to the easy access and people’s zeal to get vaccinated early, the no-show vaccine slots have become nearly impossible to grab, many Koreans complain. “I was able to find a local hospital in Suwon with six does of AstraZeneca this morning on the reservation system on KakaoTalk. I hesitated for about one s

South Korean pharmaceutical firm Celltrion announced Monday that its COVID-19 antibody treatment has significantly shortened the recovery time and rate of progression for severe symptoms. The firm disclosed top-line results from a global phase 3 clinical study of Regkirona, or CT-P59, which was conducted with 1,315 patients from 13 countries around the globe between January and April. Celltrion found Regkirona reduces the risk of cases progressing to severe COVID-19 by 70 percent. Among high

South Korean digital comics platform operator Naver faces growing competition from its crosstown rival Kakao as the latter ups investment to tap into overseas markets. A webtoon refers to a series of comic strips published online. In South Korea, Naver and Kakao are the two largest online webtoon platform providers. Earlier last month, Kakao Entertainment launched its webtoon platform, Kakao Webtoon, in Thailand and Taiwan. Last week, the firm revealed that it has taken the top spot in the Go

Leaders of four South Korean conglomerates -- Hyundai Motor, SK, Posco and Hyosung -- have agreed to launch a CEO-level consultation body for the local hydrogen economy. According to officials from the business groups on Thursday, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Posco Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo and Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon met at a Hyundai Motor’s research and development center early Thursday morning, where they agreed to forge

South Korean biopharmaceutical company EuBiologics announced Wednesday that it will commence phase two clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate EuCOVAC-19. EuBiologics plans to conduct the clinical study of its synthetic antigen-based vaccine candidate from the end of this month on a total of 230 people, with an aim of completing it by October, the company said. EuBiologics said the company has seen positive results from the phase one trial in terms of the safety and immunogenicity