S-Oil on Thursday delivered a donation of 150 million won ($135,000) to the Korea National Council on Social Welfare. Since 2015, South Korea’s leading refiner has led a corporate social responsibility campaign titled Hope to You, in which it donates money to the KNCSW so that it can provide heating oil to energy-poor households. “This year seems to be seeing a cold winter earlier than previous years. It appears that there are still many neighbors who go through a cold winter with

Industry Nov. 12, 2020

Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin stirred up a storm Wednesday after saying in a radio interview that his company’s COVID-19 antibody treatment will eradicate the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the human body in four to five days from administration and that it will be available for emergency use in Korea starting at year-end. “In order to put a stop to the pandemic for good, there needs to be both the vaccine and the treatment,” Seo said live on the radio program. “And among treatm

Industry Nov. 11, 2020

German pharma giant Boehringer Ingelheim has returned Bridge Biotherapeutics’ BBT-877, a novel drug pipeline for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the South Korean company said Tuesday. Bridge Biotherapeutics will regain full global rights to the pipeline. It does not have to return the 45 million euro ($53.22 million) down payment. BI’s decision to terminate the research was based on evidence of toxicity, Bridge Biotherapeutics explained in a regulatory filing, adding that the comp

Industry Nov. 10, 2020

Pfizer’s positive clinical phase 3 midterm report of its COVID-19 mRNA vaccine lends optimism to studies worldwide working to develop an armor against the pandemic, pharmaceutical industry insiders in Korea opined Tuesday. “The US company’s stride does not mean that other vaccine pursuits are meaningless or futile at all,“ one of the insiders mentioned. With the remarkable feats being achieved through the endeavors of various global pharmas, COVID-19 vaccines are taki

Industry Nov. 10, 2020

  　Celltrion set a quarterly earnings record in the third quarter of 2020, the company’s regulatory filing showed Monday. 　The No. 1 South Korean biosimilars maker posted a revenue of 548.8 billion won ($492.6 million) and an operating profit of 245.3 billion won, up 89.9 percent and 137.8 percent, respectively. 　The pharma credited its buoyant performance to increasingly reliable distribution of its biosimilar products, which are expanding their presence in global markets. 　Cell

Industry Nov. 9, 2020

Celltrion reaffirmed positive findings from the phase 1 clinical trial of its COVID-19 antibody treatment CT-P59 at the annual autumn conference of Korean societies of infectious diseases and antimicrobial therapy, the company said Friday. Celltrion saw antiviral efficacy of CT-P59 and its safety in human body through the phase 1 trial targeting 18 COVID-19 patients displaying light symptoms. These patients were recruited in Korea and Europe, Celltrion said. Kim Jin-yong, doctor of infecti

Industry Nov. 6, 2020

　South Korean pharmaceuticals and biologics companies produced conflicting third-quarter reports, some of them boosted by their involvement in COVID-19-related pipelines. 　GC Pharma, Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical, Boryung Pharmaceutical, Daewoong Pharmaceutical and Yuhan Corp. reported stellar performances, while Dong-A ST and Hanmi Pharm saw their figures falter. 　 　The companies that fared better than the others had flu vaccines and treatments for chronic illnesses in their portfolios. Both

Industry Nov. 4, 2020

Among Korean communications firms, SK Telecom has the best 5G availability in the capital areas of Seoul and Incheon, while LG U+ has the fastest 5G download speed, according to UK market research institute Open Signal on Sunday. “Korea’s 5G experience continues to improve with more users opting for a 5G handset,” said Open Signal, “The 5G network connection was faster in Seoul, Incheon and Busan than elsewhere in the country.” According to Open Signal in researc

Industry Nov. 1, 2020

Samsung Biologics announced the opening of its first overseas contract development operation site in the San Francisco Bay Area, Thursday. “We plan to continue our expansion into Boston, Europe and China. In 2020 and beyond, our next decade will be marked by global expansion. We want to be your next-door CDMO partner wherever you are located for faster and better development support,” said Kim Tae-han, CEO of Samsung Biologics, at the online press event designed to introduce the new

Industry Oct. 29, 2020

ULikeKorea’s LiveCare calf biocapsule was acknowledged in Korea and Japan as an animal medical device, the company said Wednesday. ULikeKorea’s LiveCare is a monitoring tracker that, once swallowed, lodges inside the cow’s first stomach and stays there for its life span of some five years. The capsule contains an information and communication technology device that picks up on the cow’s body temperature, range of activity, mating season and 40 types of animal diseases. T

Industry Oct. 28, 2020

　Merck will invest 20 million euros ($23.6 million) in and around Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, to increase its organic light-emitting diode manufacturing capabilities, the company said Wednesday. 　The 20 million euros will be used to establish a modular production system for an additional OLED sublimation purification facility, and expand its OLED manufacturing facility in the neighboring county of Poseung-eup. 　OLED sublimation purification is a key step that ensures top-level OLED quality

Industry Oct. 28, 2020

GC LabCell tentatively filed a record-breaking third-quarter business performance, on the back of increased swab sample analysis and biologics distribution. From July to September, GC LabCell made a 2.9 billion won ($2.5 million). Its revenue increased 64 percent on-year to 23.9 billion won -- the highest figure GC LabCell has ever made in a quarter. Accumulated revenue from the first quarter through third quarter reached 59.1 billion won, surpassing 2019’s yearly accumulated revenue of

Industry Oct. 28, 2020

Digital transformation and COVID-19 are reshaping health care on an irreversible course, said Choi Yoon-sup, managing partner of Digital Healthcare Partners at The Korea Herald Biz Forum held Tuesday at The Shilla in Seoul. 　The forum, held under the tagline of “Contact less, connect more,” had speakers deliver talks on business outlook in the post-COVID-19 era. Choi’s speech outlined digital health care trends surrounding telemedicine, digital therapeutics and medical artifi

Industry Oct. 27, 2020

A trilateral consortium comprising of Theragen Bio, Macrogen and DNA Link has been selected for the Korean government’s bio big data pilot business, the companies said Monday. The K-DNA big data establishment business is a project backed by the Ministries of Health, Science and Business to gather genomic information of 20,000 Koreans in the span of the next two years. The analysis of these genomic data will provide a basis for various bio health care businesses. Starting November, the

Industry Oct. 26, 2020

Palaces in Seoul, formerly home to Joseon royalty and now must-see tourist spots, showcase the country’s cultural history. Their architectural style represent what was most aesthetically pleasing at the time of their creation. Hundreds of years have only added depth of time to the stories that are told through aged wood and weighty foundation stones. Given their significance, old palaces awash with bright lights form an out-of-this-world backdrop for pansori performances. At Gyeonghoeru

Culture Oct. 24, 2020