T he Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Wednesday it will revoke licenses of six botulinum toxin products manufactured by Hugel and Pharma Research Bio for failing to obtain due authorization. Hugel, South Korea’s leading botulinum toxin products maker, however, said it would fight the ministry’s move, saying their products, produced for overseas sales, were not subject to the regulation. Under the Drug Ministry’s order, the six botulinum toxin products -- two types of P

Technology Nov. 10, 2021

After Google’s move to allow a free choice of payment options for digital purchases made on its app store in South Korea, attention is turning to Apple, the other global tech giant targeted by a new law here. As of Friday, Apple remained silent on how it plans to comply with the law, which was passed by the National Assembly in August as the world’s first aimed at curbing the dominance of Google and Apple in the app ecosystem. On Thursday, the Korea Communications Commission said

Technology Nov. 5, 2021

SK Bioscience announced Friday positive results from phase 1 and 2 clinical studies of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate GBP510, increasing the prospect of Korea’s first homegrown coronavirus vaccine debuting next year. The Korean firm said people who received the vaccine candidate had neutralizing antibodies at levels 3-6 times higher than those of people who recovered from COVID-19. No severe side effects were reported during the clinical studies, it added. The phase 1 and 2 clinical

Technology Nov. 5, 2021

Samsung Biologics has purchased land in Songdo, Incheon, to build a production facility for genetic medicines, the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority said Thursday. The pharmaceutical firm has signed a deal with the authority, which oversees a plan to develop a bio cluster in Songdo, to purchase 10,000 square meters of land in the city. The site was put up for sale in June. There, Samsung Biologics is expected to construct a new facility to produce materials and drug platforms for genetic

Technology Nov. 4, 2021

Apple Korea’s general manager Brandon Yoon will resign from his position, industry sources said Thursday. According to the sources, Yoon tendered his resignation from the position at the company on Thursday. The company refrained from offering a confirmation. Yoon has led Apple Korea since 2018. Before coming to Apple Korea, Yoon worked at Samsung Electronics. He also worked for Microsoft from 2003-2015. Industry sources said Yoon’s resignation is sudden and unexpected, given t

Technology Nov. 4, 2021

Samsung Group’s leader Lee Jae-yong will have to pay a 70 million won ($59,200) fine for illegal use of propofol, an anesthetic medication, judicial sources said Wednesday. The fine was finalized as both prosecutors and the defendant have not filed an appeal by Tuesday, the last day of the seven-day window to appeal the court order. The Seoul Central District Court last week ordered Lee to pay the fine and an additional forfeiture of 17 million won for violating the Narcotics Control Act

Technology Nov. 3, 2021

GC Pharma announced Tuesday that the European Medicines Agency has granted orphan drug designation to its Hunterase ICV, a novel treatment for mucopolysaccharidosis type II, also known as the Hunter syndrome. The designation brings a variety of significant advantages under the EMA’s effort to encourage the development of drugs to treat rare diseases or conditions. GC Pharma said the company will be able to speed up regulatory procedures to market Hunterase ICV in Europe. Hunterase ICV

Technology Nov. 2, 2021

South Korea’s autonomous driving startup 42dot said Tuesday that it has raised 104 billion won ($88.5 million) in a series A funding. That raised the total investment the firm has secured to date to 153 billion won, the company added. The investors include Hyundai Motor, Shinhan Financial Group, Lotte Rental, Lotte Ventures and several local venture capital firms. 42dot plans to use the funding to accelerate its autonomous driving technologies and beef up human resources. The start

Technology Nov. 2, 2021

GeneOne Life Science’s investigational oral drug for COVID-19 has received regulatory approvals from the European Medicines Agency and Bulgaria to conduct a phase 2 clinical trial in Bulgaria, the Korean biotech firm said Monday. The Balkan nation is among the five regions where GeneOne Life Science plans to conduct phase 2 studies of GLS-1027. It is also the last of the five to give the company a go-ahead. The four others are the US, South Korea, Puerto Rico and North Macedonia. Gene

Technology Nov. 1, 2021

South Korean drugmakers are at a crossroads on whether or not to continue developing COVID-19 treatments, as vaccination rates rise across the world and the first drug from global pharmaceutical Merck is set to debut soon. Some have already given up. Merck’s recent decision to give away patents related to molnupiravir, which would become the world’s first COVID-19 pill, for developing countries to produce generic drugs, could prompt latecomers to drop out of the race, industry sou

Technology Oct. 31, 2021

SK Telecom’s nontelecom split-off SK Square will officially launch on Monday, with a focus on semiconductor and new tech businesses, SK Telecom, the world’s largest telecommunication company said Sunday. The split-off will allow the SK Group company to better respond to changing dynamics in the chip sector through strategic investments, which were partly limited under the fair trade law here. Under the restructuring, the first since SKT Telecom was founded in 1984, SK Square will

Technology Oct. 31, 2021

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said Thursday that it will take innovative products of small local companies to next year’s CES, the world’s largest tech show held annually in Las Vegas. For the Korean pavilion at the CES 2022, some 210 companies and 13 institutions will travel to the US, according to Kotra. Among them, some 14 local companies had a chance to showcase their latest products at Korea Electronics Show 2021, underway at Coex in southern Seoul, from Tuesda

Technology Oct. 28, 2021

Kolmar Korea, a cosmetics and health care company based in Seoul, has made a strategic investment in a beauty platform operator in a bid to target Millennial and Generation Z consumers in the local beauty market. According to its announcement on Wednesday, the company purchased an 11 percent stake in Pawcompany. Established in 2003, Pawcompany operates online beauty community Powder Room. The platform currently has 3.7 million members and has held marketing projects with 5,400 beauty firms t

Technology Oct. 27, 2021

South Korean biotech firm Genencell said Wednesday that the company received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for mid- and late-stage trials of its COVID-19 treatment candidate ES16001. ES16001 is an oral COVID-19 drug candidate made with natural ingredients extracted from the leaves of Elaeocarpus sylvestris native to Korea. Genencell has developed the treatment candidate in collaboration with the College of Life Sciences at Kyung Hee University. Genencell currently plans

Technology Oct. 27, 2021

Digital transformation is accelerating in a wide range of sectors, but it is unclear what it actually means and what it should entail. Everybody seems to have their own definition of it, and to be conducting their own experiments. CJ Group Chief Digital Officer and CJ OliveNetworks CEO Cha In-hyok, noting his company as among those accumulating trials and experiments, shared the story of how he took the retail-to-entertainment conglomerate on its digital journey. Speaking at the Korea Herald

Technology Oct. 26, 2021