When walking into a restaurant, people usually have a sense about how expensive the food would be. But when it comes to cosmetic surgery clinics here, it is a different story. Not many -- perhaps none -- openly display the price of their services or procedures, not to mention the specs of medical equipment they use. “Say that I want to receive a skin toning laser treatment and there are two hospitals. One uses equipment that costs 200 million won (about $180,000), and the other uses o

Technology May 10, 2021

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion clinched the first overseas supply deal for its COVID-19 antibody treatment Regkirona, according to Celltrion Healthcare’s announcement on Monday. Celltrion Healthcare, which is in charge of Celltrion‘s overseas business, signed a contract with a state-run company in Pakistan to export 100,000 vials of Regkirona, enough for around 30,000 people. The firm will dispatch its experts to Pakistan to train medical workers who will administer t

Technology May 10, 2021

A panel of medical experts here gave a nod to US pharmaceutical company Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Monday. The advisory panel’s review is the first of the three-stage evaluation process before South Korea gives final approval. The next stage of the evaluation is scheduled on Thursday. If finally approved, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine would become the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to receive an approval from the South Korean govern

Technology May 10, 2021

Samsung Electronics will share its 505 patented technologies with local small and medium enterprises, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Friday. The list comprises 213 mobile technologies, 68 semiconductor technologies, 68 display technologies, 45 telecommunications technologies and 31 medical equipment technologies, and others. The SMEs that wish to benefit from the governments technology transfer program are required to submit their application via the ministry or the Korea Ins

Technology May 7, 2021

Roche Diagnostics Korea announced Thursday that the company has received approval for the cobas test, an assay used to specifically detect the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus in laboratories settings. According to Roche, the cobas test is capable of qualitative detection and differentiation between SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A and Influenza B present in nasal swab samples collected from individuals suspected of a respiratory infection. Roche’s laboratory-based assay cobas SARS

Technology May 6, 2021

The race to acquire South Korean food delivery platform Yogiyo has attracted retail giant Shinsegae, accommodation booking platform Yanolja and big private equity funds, according to industry sources on Wednesday. Yogiyo’s German operator Delivery Hero and sale adviser Morgan Stanley received preliminary bids Tuesday for a 100 percent stake in Yogiyo up for sale. According to the sources, around eight parties have joined the acquisition race, including Shinsegae and Yanolja. South Kor

Industry May 5, 2021

COVID-19 self-test kits developed by local companies are available at convenience stores here, startubg Wednesday. GS Retail announced Wednesday that the company’s convenience store chain GS25 would begin the sale of COVID-19 self-test kits at around 2,000 locations nationwide, the South Korean retail company said. They products would be also available at the company’s grocery store chain GS Supermarket and health and beauty chain Lalavla, starting on Friday. There are two produ

Technology May 5, 2021

The US International Trade Commission has lifted a 21-month ban on the sale of Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s botulinum toxin product Nabota, or Jeuveau, in the United States, according to an announcement from Medytox on Tuesday. The decision allows Evolus, a US partner of South Korea’s Daewoong, to resume sales of Nabota in the US, after a legal battle between Medytox and Daewoong over misappropriation of trade secrets. The dispute between the two Korean pharmas, Medytox and Daewoon

Technology May 4, 2021

A total of 40 novel drugs were approved by Seoul‘s pharmaceutical authorities in 2020, but none were developed by South Korean companies, according to a survey released by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Monday. According to the Korean drug safety agency, local companies failed to introduce novel drugs domestically for the second consecutive year. In 2018, there were two novel drugs developed by local pharmaceutical companies that received approvals from the agency. “Laun

Technology May 3, 2021

South Korea‘s pharmaceutical giant Celltrion announced Monday that the company has received a conditional approval for its COVID-19 test kit DiaTrust from the country‘s drug safety agency. DiaTrust, developed jointly by Humasis and Celltrion, is an antigen test kit that can detect the most recent COVID-19 variants from the UK and Brazil. The test kit uses a sterile nasal swab which can identify specific antigens of COVID-19 present in specimens collected from the nasal cavity within

Technology May 3, 2021

LG Chem is set to fill hundreds of positions in its advanced materials division as it prepares for an aggressive expansion into new business areas and markets, the company said Sunday. The company’s upcoming hiring period will be its most active since the division was established in 2019, it added. According to LG Chem, the company is seeking talent in all the business segments where it operates, from battery materials to postconsumer recycled plastics, organic light-emitting diodes a

Industry May 2, 2021

LG U+ has set up a crane remote control system at Busan Port and aims to commercialize 5G network-based solutions for automated seaport infrastructure management, the company said Sunday. The yard cranes at Busan Port are controlled remotely by an operator in an office, using the control system developed by the South Korean telecommunications firm. The tall cranes, equipped with sensors and high-definition cameras, are designed to send live feeds to a control room via the 5G network. The so

Technology May 2, 2021

Posco has pledged to increase its social contributions while embracing the emerging trend of environmental, social and corporate governance, or ESG, management around the globe, the company said Thursday. South Korea’s leading steelmaker in 2018 launched its management initiative called “corporate citizenship” and pledged to expand its support for the betterment of society. Celebrating the fourth year since the company started its support in a wide range of sectors, Posco h

Industry April 29, 2021

South Koreans may be able to purchase COVID-19 self-test kits as early as next Monday, industry officials said Wednesday. Coming are two types of home test kits developed by local biotech firms SD Biosensor and Humasis. The test kits will be available at local pharmacies or via online channels, according to the companies. The rollout comes after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety last week gave each of them conditional-use approval. The products have been in use in several countries in Eu

Technology April 28, 2021

Local vaccine developer Genexine has signed a contract with an Indonesian pharmaceutical company to supply 10 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, the company said Tuesday. According to the firm, Indonesian pharmaceutical company PT Kalbe Farma will purchase 10 million doses of GX-19N, the vaccine candidate currently in the phase 2 clinical trial stage. Genexine will be provided with royalties based on sales of the vaccine, it added. Sale of the jabs would be possible only after

Technology April 27, 2021