Telcon RF obtains approval for safety test of Humanigen's COVID-19 treatment

Telcon RF Pharmaceutical has received approval to carry out a phase 1 clinical study of Humanigen‘s COVID-19 treatment lenzilumab in South Korea, the company said Thursday. Lenzilumab is a monoclonal antibody drug developed by Humanigen for treating hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Telcon RF and its parent company KPM Tech are responsible for gaining regulatory approval and commercialization authorization of lenzilumab in South Korea and the Philippines, under the licensing transact

July 22, 2021

[Herald Interview] Group14 CEO eyes batteries of tomorrow

What battery manufacturers want is simple: to make their batteries more powerful. To this end, battery makers are taking various efforts to innovate their recipes, including putting more nickel inside cathodes or silicon in graphite anodes. They also form technological partnerships, and the latest example is the joint venture created by SK Materials and Group14 Technologies. On Monday, SK Materials, SK Group’s industrial gas manufacturing arm, announced its $52 million investment i

July 22, 2021

SK Telecom eyes sharing 3G network with rival carrier

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top wireless carrier, is reviewing measures to share its 3G network with a rival carrier amid declining users on the aging service, a company report showed Thursday. The carrier said in its annual sustainability report that it is considering measures to share its 3G network with a "competitor" as a way to offset operating costs amid a declining user base. "Demand for 3G is declining while network operating costs for 3G remain still," its Englis

July 22, 2021

SK hynix's acquisition of Intel's NAND biz gets approval from Singapore

Singapore's antitrust watchdog has approved SK hynix Inc.'s deal to acquire Intel's NAND business, the company said Wednesday. Last October, South Korea's No. 2 chipmaker signed a deal to buy Intel's non-volatile business for $9 billion, which includes the U.S. firm's solid state drive business and a NAND flash chip plant in Dalian, China. Following the deal, SK hynix had to obtain approval from antitrust regulators in major countries. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore clea

July 21, 2021

Korea’s ‘3N’ game heavyweights face gloomy Q2 earnings

South Korea’s “3N” game developers -- NCSoft, Nexon and Netmarble -- are estimated to have suffered disappointing earnings in the second quarter, hurt by a slew of negative developments amid the deepening distrust of players, brokerages and industry sources said. The gloomy earnings outlook came as NCSoft and Nexon did not produce notable hits in the April-June period, and with Netmarble’s much-anticipated mobile title Cross Worlds yet to contribute to the company&rsquo

July 21, 2021

Samsung to hold ‘Unpacked’ event on Aug. 11

Samsung Electronics announced Wednesday that the company will hold the annual “Unpacked” on Aug. 11. The event, titled “Get ready to unfold,” will stream live on the company’s official channel on YouTube, at 11 p.m. local time, according to Samsung Electronics. The company has also uploaded a trailer that provides a glimpse into the company’s latest foldable devices, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 and Galaxy Z Fold3, which the company is expected to further

July 21, 2021

GC Pharma partners with Speragen to develop first in class drug for a rare disease

South Korean biopharmaceutical firm GC Pharma has partnered with US-based biotech firm Speragen to develop a cure for a rare disease, according to the company, Tuesday. According to GC Pharma, the two companies will develop an enzyme replacement therapy for a rare disease called succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency, which currently has no treatment. The two companies aim to start preclinical studies this year and phase 1 and 2 clinical trials during the second half of 2023. Under

July 20, 2021

Samsung Bioepis begins late stage clinical trial of ustekinumab biosimilar

Samsung Bioepis said Tuesday that the company has started a Phase 3 clinical trial for its ustekinumab biosimilar candidate, SB17. SB17 is the the South Korean biopharmaceutical company’s 10th biosimilar pipeline. The reference ustekinumab product is Stelara, a prescription medicine developed by Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical unit Janssen, used to treat patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. First approved in 20

July 20, 2021

Google delays enforcing a new in-app commission policy amid growing concerns

Google has decided to postpone the application of a 15-30 percent cut on in-app purchases of digital content via its Play Store from late September this year to March next year, amid growing complaints from independent developers and content creators. The move comes as Korean legislators are pushing for a revision to the law aimed at blocking Google from enforcing such a mandatory commission policy on all in-app purchases made by local users. It is not the first time Google has changed the s

July 20, 2021

S. Korea to create think tank for space program

South Korea's science ministry said Tuesday it will create a space policy-oriented think tank in a move to bolster its space development ambitions. The country has recently ramped up its space program, with its first homegrown space rocket set for a launch in October and a lunar orbiter program scheduled for next year. The Ministry of Science and ICT said the new think tank, tentatively named the Korea Space Policy Research Center, will conduct space-related research and analysis to offer guid

July 20, 2021

Samsung to up the ante with new foldable phones

With the absence of a new Galaxy Note series model, Samsung Electronics is poised to steer its marketing and sales resources toward its next-generation foldable smartphones to outsmart its archrival Apple, which is set to launch a new iPhone later this year. Samsung used to release its Note series model targeting those who wanted a dedicated stylus and upscale features ahead of Apple’s annual iPhone launch. This year, however, Samsung has not rolled out a new Note due to chip shortages.

July 19, 2021

CJ OliveNetworks to provide big data and AI tech for small businesses

CJ OliveNetworks, the information technology solution developer of CJ Group, will share its expertise in big data and artificial intelligence with small and medium businesses and startups, the company said Monday. The CJ affiliate is participating in the South Korean government’s Data Voucher Support Project, which is part of the government’s Digital New Deal Initiative. The project aims to invigorate the big data ecosystem for small and mid-size enterprises across the country. S

July 19, 2021

LG Electronics releases new compact sound bar

LG Electronics Inc. said Monday its new compact sound bar will be available in the market as the South Korean tech giant eyes to beef up its presence in the home audio market. LG Eclair will be launched in North America later this month and will hit the shelves in major European and Asian countries. In South Korea, the premium sound bar comes with a price tag of 899,000 won ($790). The latest product, which was honored at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, is about one-third the size of a

July 19, 2021

S. Korea exports of antibody test kits increase for second consecutive month

South Korea‘s exports of antibody test kits increased for two consecutive months this spring, according to the Korea Customs Service’s data, Friday. Exports of COVID-19 test kits, however, are expected to decrease in the future due to international vaccination efforts, local industry sources alerted. The country‘s exports of antibody test kits in June marked $353.3 million, up 12.7 percent from $313.5 million in May, according to the data. South Korea’s exports of re

July 16, 2021

Samsung considering Texas' Williamson County for new chip fab

Samsung Electronics is considering Williamson County in Texas as a possible site for its new foundry plant in the United States, according to industry sources on Friday. The South Korean tech giant confirmed that it is looking at Williamson County in Texas as a potential candidate among various sites across the US. The sources said Samsung is considering several sites in the US, such as Arizona, New York, and Austin, Texas. Earlier, Reuters reported that Samsung has applied for tax incen

July 16, 2021

Netflix-SK dispute over net neutrality to continue

The legal battle between US-based streaming giant Netflix and South Korea’s internet service provider SK Broadband is likely to continue centering on the controversial topic of net neutrality. Netflix on Thursday appealed a Seoul court’s decision that sided with SK Broadband. Last month, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed a request from Netflix that the video streaming service operator is not liable to pay network usage fees to SK Broadband. The court also rejected Ne

July 16, 2021

Doctors raise concerns over Hyundai Pharm’s abortion pill

Medical experts are divided over the safety and efficacy of an abortion pill poised to soon hit local pharmacy shelves. After a Korean firm sought to bring in the drug Mifegyne -- which is sold in over 70 countries -- under a local brand name Mifegymiso, a group of local experts on Thursday called for a bridging study to verify the pill’s safety and efficacy. A bridging study on a drug is an additional study executed in a new region to compare it with foreign clinical data on safety, e

July 15, 2021

SK Bioscience aims to launch COVID-19 vaccine by early next year

SK Bioscience is to soon begin the Phase 3 clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, the firm’s CEO Ahn Jae-yong told a local seminar held Wednesday. Ahn also added the company expects the vaccine to be out early next year. SK Bioscience currently has two COVID-19 vaccine candidates, GBP510 and NBP2001, under development. The Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province-based firm is expected to choose one -- GBP510. The company last month applied for a regulatory permission to start the Phase 3

July 15, 2021

KT starts ‘real’ end-to-end 5G service in industry first

KT on Thursday announced the launch of pure end-to-end 5G service, becoming the first mobile carrier in South Korea to commercialize a 5G standalone network. Starting from Thursday, users of Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra phones who subscribe to KT’s 5G mobile plans will be able to access the 5G SA connection simply by updating their device software. Standalone refers to it being pure 5G from end to end, without occasional transitioning to 4G Long Term Evolution networks. S

July 15, 2021

S. Korea to research digital treatment for depression amid pandemic

South Korea's ICT ministry said Thursday the country plans to invest nearly 30 billion won ($26.2 million) over the next three years to research digital treatment for depression in a move to find new ways to help the growing number of people suffering from the mental disorder. The number of depression patients in South Korea reached 790,000 in 2019, up 5.9 percent on-year, and the number is expected to rise as the pandemic restricts social activities and triggers economic uncertainty. Digital

July 15, 2021