Samsung BioLogics, a contract manufacturer of biologic drugs under the Samsung Group, made a strong stock market debut Thursday, as its shares were buoyed by rosy expectations for the pharmaceutical industry after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.　Shares of Samsung BioLogics opened at 135,000 won ($117.50) apiece on Korea’s main stock market Kospi, slightly lower than their initial public offering price of 136,000 won.　After trading began, the shares continued to rally thro

Technology Nov. 10, 2016

INGRESS EVENT IN SEOUL -- Niantic, the developer of the smash hit augmented reality mobile game “Pokemon Go” will host a competition for its earlier-launched AR-based game “Ingress” in Jamsil, Seoul from Friday to Sunday. “Ingress” is a multiplayer mobile game utilizing AR technology in which users, belonging to teams, must capture “portals” at places of cultural significance and create virtual triangular “control fields” over geographical areas. The event, titled “Ingress Anomaly Via Seoul Noir

Technology Nov. 10, 2016

Kakao, operator of South Korea’s largest mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Thursday that its third-quarter operating profit rose 87 percent on-year to 30.3 billion won ($26.4 million), propelled by a strong mobile contents business.　The company‘s revenue in the July-September period also surged 70.5 percent on-year to 391.4 billion won. However, net income fell 7.7 percent on-year to 13.62 billion won due to “costs generated by Kakao’s financial activities,” it said.Kakao’s revenue hike was drive

Technology Nov. 10, 2016

US pharmaceutical giant AbbVie has won a key patent dispute over its blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis treatment Humira in the US, dealing a blow to those preparing to commercialize Humira biosimilars in the world’s biggest market for biologic drugs.　Coherus Biosciences Inc. said Tuesday that the US Patent and Trademark Office denied the company’s request for an inter partes review -- the procedure for challenging the validity of a patent via the office -- of AbbVie’s formulation patent on Humira

Industry Nov. 9, 2016

For acclaimed Welsh industrial designer Ross Lovegrove, the essence of successful modern design is bringing humanity in harmony with nature. And today’s revolutionary technologies are making this task more possible than ever before.　“It’s the natural, logical path for design to be born out of nature, where humans with new eyes and computational power can produce more logical and beautiful things in architecture, cars and products,” Lovegrove said in an interview during the 2016 Herald Design For

Arts & Design Nov. 9, 2016

Providing creative minds a way to pitch their ideas and attract funding is the founding mission of crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, but its CEO and co-founder Yancey Strickler believes its impact is far broader.　“They’re showing their creations off in videos, walking their audience through the design process and giving them an opportunity to look into where things come from,” said Strickler in an interview after speaking at the Herald Design Forum 2016 in Seoul on Tuesday.Founded in 2009 and b

Arts & Design Nov. 9, 2016

A number of closely watched initial public offerings will take place in South Korea this week, including that of contract drug manufacturer Samsung BioLogics and cosmetics company CLIO.Samsung BioLogics, the biopharma contract manufacturing arm of Korean tech giant Samsung Group, will be listed on Korea’s main bourse Kospi on Thursday, marking the largest IPO of the year here.A sign is seen at the Samsung BioLogics headquarters in Songdo, Incheon. (Sohn Ji-young/The Korea Herald)On Wednesday, ho

Technology Nov. 7, 2016

Led by the expansion of the South Korean pharmaceutical industry, the size of the local pharma workforce grew by 27 percent compared to four years ago, recent data showed Monday.　According to the Korea Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, a total of 94,500 people were employed at some 842 pharmaceutical companies as of 2015, a sharp increase from 2011, when 74,000 people were employed at 822 companies. (123RF)While the number of pharmaceutical companies rose just 2 percent during the four-y

Industry Nov. 7, 2016

South Korean mobile carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus on Wednesday collided over the superiority of new networks for the Internet of Things technology as the latter two established a new alliance against the segment’s leader SKT.　　KT and LG Uplus on Thursday announced a new partnership for the swift commercialization and expansion of the Narrow Band-Internet of Things, or NB-IoT, network across the nation.　The two local carriers plan to cooperate in making the NB-IoT the standard network supp

Technology Nov. 3, 2016

South Korean biopharma developer Green Cross said Wednesday that its self-developed tetanus-diphtheria vaccine for adults has been approved by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.　It is the first time that a Korean drugmaker has successfully developed and scored regulatory approval to commercialize a Td vaccine here.Right now, Koreans are mandated to receive a Td vaccine between the ages of 10 and 12, and receive new vaccine shots every 10 years.Until now, Td vaccines were entirely impor

Industry Nov. 2, 2016

It’s a cold day on your way home from work. However, minutes before your arrival, the heating system and lights at your apartment automatically turn on -- all through a simple voice command of “initiate return home mode” via your smartphone.　After you park your car, the front gate of the apartment building automatically opens as it recognizes you via the smartphone in your hand. With a simple touch, the door of your warm apartment opens as the pre-set rice cooker announces, “The rice is ready.”　

Technology Nov. 2, 2016

As public anger grows toward Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of President Park Geun-hye who allegedly meddled in key government affairs as a civilian, South Korean game developers have launched new mobile games mocking the woman at the center of the country’s roiling political scandal.Choi Soon-sil, 60, is a longtime friend of President Park who allegedly acted as the president’s secret adviser without holding a government title. She is accused of using her personal ties to the president to wield un

Technology Nov. 1, 2016

Asiana Airlines employees monitor aviation data via its newly deployed aviation safety management system named AASIS2, or Asiana Airlines Safety Information 2, at the company’s safety control tower in Gangnam, Seoul, Tuesday. (Yonhap)

Industry Nov. 1, 2016

South Korean cosmetics giant AmorePacific Group said Tuesday that its third-quarter operating profit rose 16.7 percent to 219.7 billion won ($192.5 million), led by the strong growth of its cosmetics businesses abroad. The group’s revenue also rose 22.9 percent on-year to reach 1.65 trillion won in the July-September period, according to the company’s regulatory filing.However, its net profit in the third quarter dropped 0.4 percent to 151.4 billion won, due to losses sustained by its biggest su

Industry Nov. 1, 2016

South Korean biopharma developer Celltrion said Monday that it has submitted its Herceptin biosimilar to the European Medicine Agency for approval, taking a step closer to commercializing the drug in European markets.　Celltrion submitted Herzuma to the EMA on Oct. 27. Herzuma is a biosimilar referencing Roche’s blockbuster breast cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab) which raked in a revenue of $6.8 billion worldwide in 2015. The Celltrion headquarters in Songdo, Incheon (Yonhap)Biosimilars refer

Industry Oct. 31, 2016