First generation K-pop star BoA was investigated by the prosecution for alleged drug smuggling. BoA's agency SM Entertainment acknowledged the incident on Thursday, but denied that it was an intentional act of wrongdoing. Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office summoned BoA for questioning on Wednesday, according to those familiar with the matter. BoA is accused of illegally bringing in drugs such as zolpidem through unauthorized route.  From what is known, BoA had multiple psychotro

Social Affairs Dec. 17, 2020

A US trade court ruled Wednesday in favor of Medytox in its 5-year-old legal battle with Daewoong Pharmaceutical over botulinum toxin products. In its final decision, the US International Trade Commission slapped Daewoong with a 21-month ban on the sale of its botulinum toxin product, Nabota, in the US. Daewoong’s US partner, Evolus, issued an investors’ notice saying the company “plans to fund a bond to allow for the continued sales and marketing of Jeuveau in the United S

Industry Dec. 17, 2020

Even before the novel coronavirus got out of China late last year, South Korean government and diagnostic firms knew what was coming and what they needed to do. The insight made the country the world’s main supplier of COVID-19 test kits during the initial phase of the pandemic. Nearly a year later and faced with fierce new waves of infections threatening to undermine the country’s early success in the virus fight, officials from the government and industry officials met Wednesda

Industry Dec. 17, 2020

Samsung Biologics’ newly appointed chief executive officer John Rim vowed in his inaugural address on Wednesday to put the company in the front of the race in contract research, development and manufacturing. Samsung Biologics will continue to make preemptive investments in the contract manufacturing organization (CMO) business, in order to maintain its position as having the world’s largest biologics manufacturing facility. As for the relatively new businesses of contract develo

Industry Dec. 16, 2020

LG Display’s 88-inch 8K organic light-emitting diode display won the Prime Minister’s accolade at 2020 Korea Tech Show on Wednesday. The prized display is the first product with such cutting-edge specifications to be commercialized in the world, LG Display said. Prior to LGD’s 8K OLED, the advanced 8K display market had been dominated by liquid crystal displays. LGD’s 8K OLED is expected to be a game changer with every one of its 33 million pixels controllable for del

Industry Dec. 16, 2020

Samsung Bioepis has begun the final stage clinical trial of postmenopausal osteoporosis treatment SB16, the company said Tuesday. SB16 (denosumab) is a biosimilar referencing Amgen’s Prolia, whose global annual sales marked over 3 trillion won ($2.74 billion) in 2019. The phase 3 clinical trial of SB16 is anticipated to be completed by March 2023, just in time for the company to derive analysis and push for commercialization of the drug by Prolia’s patent expiration in major mark

Industry Dec. 15, 2020

South Korean diagnostics company Seegene is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the global COVID-19 crisis. On Monday, the molecular biotech firm announced that its aggregate revenues so far this year topped 1 trillion won ($916.3 million) on the back of strong demand for COVID-19 test kits and diagnostic machines. That is nearly 10 times larger than the 122 billion won reported for all of 2019. “The COVID-19 pandemic has raised public trust in Seegene’s molecular diagnostics rea

Industry Dec. 14, 2020

The aphorism that a crisis can be an opportunity has never struck home so much as it has for vaccine companies in the era of COVID-19. Not only has the pandemic raised awareness of the role of vaccines in health care, but it also expedited crucial advances in innovative vaccine technologies such as messenger ribonucleic acid, or mRNA, vaccines. Heightened public interest in individual vaccine firms is another plus. Speaking to the media for the first time since assuming his role on Aug. 25, v

Industry Dec. 14, 2020

LG Chem is taking steps to carry out its pledge to create no more carbon emissions by 2050. Starting 2021, the company’s cathode material plant in Wuxi, China, will run entirely on reusable energy provided by the local Leyou New Energy Materials, LG Chem said Sunday. Carbon emissions reduction from the change is expected to be 100,000 tons a year. This has the effect of planting 1.7 million trees every year, the company said. Leyou New Energy Materials generates reusable energy using w

Industry Dec. 13, 2020

With the daily number of new COVID-19 cases surpassing 1,000 for the first time Sunday, South Korea’s bet on the most feasible exit plan from the mayhem is treatments, not vaccines. While both vaccines and treatment may be needed to extinguish the pandemic for good, so far for Korea, treatments are making quicker advances to actual use on people here. National household names Celltrion and GC Pharma are inches away from acquiring conditional use permits from local health authorities, ac

Industry Dec. 13, 2020

Wizbiosolutions started in 2010 as a one-man company. A decade of research and development down the road, it has encountered the ultimate stressor that has catapulted its growth -- the global COVID-19 pandemic. Wizbiosolutions’ portable diagnostics system, which enables field diagnostic test at airports and harbors, as well as room temperature storable reagent for polymerase chain reaction, have been key to the company’s successful Series A funding amounting to $10 million in Octobe

Industry Dec. 11, 2020

Samsung Biologics on Tuesday appointed John Rim as the new chief executive officer to replace former-CEO Kim Tae-han. Kim’s departure from Samsung Biologics comes nearly 10 years after the company’s foundation in 2011. The new CEO Rim is a Korean American with 34 years of experience working for global pharmaceutical firms such as Yamanouchi, Genentech and Roche, where he had been chief financial officer. Rim has been with Samsung Biologics since 2018, where his first role was as e

Industry Dec. 8, 2020

  　SK Holdings on Monday announced an investment of $200 million in a new subsidiary to be founded by Roivant Sciences -- the name of which remains undecided -- that will use its targeted protein degradation technology.   　This is a key step in SK Group’s pivot to biologics business, SK Holdings said, citing its focus on growing markets more than maturing ones, and a search for “disruptive tech” that could create synergy with SK Biopharmaceuticals and SK Pharmteco.

Industry Dec. 7, 2020

Poongsan Group Chairman and CEO Ryu Roy Jin joined the CSIS Board of Trustees, Friday. The Center for Strategic and International Studies is a Washington-based think tank. “I am delighted to welcome Roy to our Board of Trustees,” said CSIS President and CEO John J. Hamre. “CSIS will benefit tremendously from his global vision and innovative spirit.” Since 1998, Ryu has served as chairman and CEO of Poongsan Group, one of the largest manufacturers of copper products a

Industry Dec. 6, 2020

South Korea has a new export item. COVID-19 diagnostic reagents notched a 2.5 trillion won ($2.3 billion) performance up to end-November. Diagnostic reagents are among the most fundamental components of diagnostic testing assays. Simply put, it is critical to have a well-functioning reagent to accurately discern a COVID-19 infection. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Korea Customs Service on Friday, Korea had exported enough COVID-19 diagnostic reagents to cover 496.8

Industry Dec. 4, 2020