Hanmi Pharmaceutical said Friday that its non-small cell lung cancer treatment Poziotinib has received the fast track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration. Hanmi added that its US partner Spectrum Pharmaceuticals would submit the new drug application to the FDA by the end of this year. Fast track designation from the US FDA is one of the measures designed to support development and expedite the review of drugs that show promise in treating serious and address unmet medical ne

Technology March 12, 2021

SK hynix, South Korea‘s second-largest chipmaker, announced Friday that the company has received approval from the US foreign investment watchdog for acquiring Intel’s NAND business. Upon the approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, SK hynix said it has completed all foreign investment screening procedures the US requires. Earlier, the company had obtained the approval of the US Federal Trade Commission, late last year. SK hynix said the company wo

Technology March 12, 2021

SK Bioscience will develop an all-in-one vaccine targeting COVID-19 variants, together with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, the South Korean firm said Thursday. SK Bioscience would receive funding from CEPI, worth up to $14.2 million, for the research and development. The South Korean vaccine developer could receive additional funds of as much as $12.5 million for building manufacturing facilities. For the new vaccine, the company hopes to build on its experience with n

Technology March 11, 2021

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology’s research team has discovered a new way of treating the movement disorder dystonia, it announced Wednesday. Patients with dystonia suffer from involuntary muscle spasms or contractions, resulting in repetitive movements and abnormal body posture. Led by Professor Kim Dae-so, the research team has found that volinanserin, or MDL100907, has the potential to treat dystonia as an antagonist to 5-HT2AR, a serotonin receptor. According

Technology March 11, 2021

Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s partner company in the US is to begin a phase two study of using botulinum toxin complex injections as a preventive treatment for migraines, according to the South Korean firm Tuesday. AEON Biopharma, a California-based private clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has licensed the ABP-450 injection from Daewoong Pharmaceutical and has exclusive development and distribution rights for ABP-450 in the US, Canada and the European countries. Last year, the US

Technology March 9, 2021

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion is preparing to launch an overseas clinical trial for a new medicine for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, according to industry sources Monday. Celltrion is currently recruiting participants in Poland for its phase 1 clinical trial for CT-G20, the South Korean biopharmaceutical company’s first-ever chemical drug for HCM, a heart disease for which there is currently no known cure. The firm plans to submit an investigational new drug application t

Technology March 8, 2021

  An employee looks at works created by local artists on display at a lobby area of SK Telecom’s headquarters building in central Seoul. The South Korean telecommunications firm said Sunday that the company would continue installing artwork there to support local artists who have been deprived of opportunities to introduce their works amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (SKT)  

Technology March 7, 2021

The South Korean government will discuss with providers of online services to set up detailed guidelines for the country’s “Netflix Law,” industry sources said Sunday. The Ministry of Science and ICT will hold a meeting this week with officials from Google, Facebook, Netflix, Naver, Kakao and Wavve. The companies are expected to use the session to clarify terms in the revised Telecommunications Business Act, which could potentially disrupt their business activities in the

Technology March 7, 2021

South Korea plans to inject 2.17 trillion won ($1.9 billion) over the next 10 years to support development of new drugs, the government announced Thursday. Some 1.47 trillion of that money will come from state coffers, while private players will invest the remaining 701 billion won, the Ministry of Science and ICT said. The goal is to debut new medicines that could generate annual sales of 1 trillion won, it added. This budget would be spent on supporting the overall development process of

Technology March 4, 2021

South Korean biopharma firm Green Cross LabCell has established a pet health care unit, the company announced Thursday. 　 The new entity, Green Vet, plans to introduce health care solutions and products that address various issues regarding the overall life quality of companion animals in addition to the essential medical support, said Green Cross LabCell CEO Park Dae-woo. The technology and know-how of Green Cross LabCell, which specializes in cell curing agents and transportation of consig

Technology March 4, 2021

A local survey showed around half of local startup founders are from the country’s four most prominent universities, implying that educational background could play an important role in starting a new business here. “Many people easily associate startup founders with their individual talents or abilities rather than their educational backgrounds. (But data underlines) that the startup sector here is skewed towards certain universities,” said Park Ju-gun, industry tracker CEO

Technology March 3, 2021

South Korea’s telecommunications firms KT and LG U+ said Wednesday they have invested a total of 26 billion won ($23.1 million) in the homegrown app market ONE store, a subsidiary of SK Telecom. KT has spent 21 billion won to acquire a 3.1 percent stake in ONE store, while LG U+ has acquired a 0.7 percent stake with 5 billion won, according to a joint statement released Wednesday. SK Telecom currently has a 50.1 percent stake, and local tech giant Naver has a 26.3 percent share in the

Technology March 3, 2021

South Korea’s Hanmi Pharmaceutical announced Tuesday that the US Food and Drug Administration has postponed its commercialization approval of Oraxol. Oraxol is an oral formulation of paclitaxel, a drug used to kill dividing tumor cells. The novel treatment for metastatic breast cancer currently outlicensed to the company’s US partner Athenex. In a statement released Tuesday, Hanmi said its US partner Athenex received a complete response letter, in which the FDA included a review

Industry March 2, 2021

As South Korea ramps up its COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, two local biopharmaceuticals are leading the supply and distribution of foreign jabs -- Green Cross and SK Bioscience. The state-run Public Procurement Service recently announced that Green Cross has been selected as a local distributor of the mRNA-1237 vaccine developed by US biotech firm Moderna, one of the COVID-19 vaccines that needs to be kept at low temperatures. Green Cross would be in charge of the distribution of the Moder

Technology March 2, 2021

Samsung Electro-Mechanics officials present its folded, 10x optical zoom camera module for smartphones. The company on Monday announced it will begin mass production of the technology, claiming to be the first South Korean maker to do so. Folded zoom technology allows phone makers to minimize the camera’s protrusion in smartphones.  By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)

Technology March 1, 2021