By Lim Jeong-yeo ( kaylalim@heraldcorp.com )

Celltrion said Monday its Cheongju plant passed the US’ Food and Drug Administration’s additional inspection, opening up the path to a 1.2 trillion won ($985 million) human immunodecifiency treatment market. Celltrion manufactures three-drug-in-one-tablet HIV treatment CT-G07 at its plant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The treatment is pending FDA approval for US commercialization. FD...

Korean companies Genexine and Binex will jointly develop potential COVID-19 vaccine “GX-19,” in hopes of preventing yearly seasonal flus showing respiratory symptoms, the companies said Monday. GX-19 will be a DNA vaccine, developed using Genexine’s platform technology and manufactured at Binex’s “good manufacturing practice”-abiding facility. A DNA vaccine involves a DNA delivery vector fitted...

How does the system know how many masks remain in stock at each of these locations? The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service keeps note of the 250 masks rationed out on a daily basis to approved distributors. Each time a pharmacist or other seller types in a purchaser’s information, the HIRA picks up that information and relays it to the National Information Society Agency. The NIA th...

“As we develop a COVID-19 cure, we will simultaneously develop a diagnostics kit that people can use themselves without a medical professional,” Seo said, the company hopes to be ready in May at the earliest, or August at the latest. “Furthermore, Celltrion will provide a total of 1 million masks to citizens of Incheon, Gyeonggi Province, and Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province -- the cities wh...

US researchers from the University of Tennessee have identified 77 molecules that show potential to impair COVID-19’s ability to infect host cells, IBM said Thursday. They made the discovery with the help of simulations using supercomputer Summit. Viruses like COVID-19 infect cells by binding to them and using “spikes” to inject their genetic material into the host cells. To understand a new mi...

South Korea’s mobile game powerhouse Netmarble is betting on a new genre that crosses massively multiplayer online role-playing and battle royal. The experimental product A3: Still Alive was launched on Thursday to a fervent response from domestic game enthusiasts. In January, Netmarble’s CEO Kwon Young-sig made a rare attendance at a press event to express deep expectations on this new game, s...

“As a committed member of the health care industry, we strongly feel the social responsibility to our community as the COVID-19 situation escalates. Through our donation, we hope to support medical professionals so that the current challenging situation comes to an end soon,” said GE Healthcare Korea President and CEO Khang Sung-wook. The devices will be sent to Andong Medical Center in North Gy...

“This is my third week of telecommuting, and I’m feeling down for lack of human communication. Is this enough reason to receive psychological counseling?” is a question one can ask for free in South Korea amid the coronavirus situation. The Korea Psychological Association, together with the nation’s disease control body, said Wednesday that it would provide free counseling for anyone needing em...

PUBG Corp. said Monday that CEO Kim Chang-han, developer of its eponymous game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, will take on the dual role as head of Krafton. The appointment is viewed by the game industry as Krafton Chairman Chang Byung-kyu’s strategy to raise the company’s market valuation for its rumored year-end initial public offering. Krafton is the parent company of game studios PUBG, Bl...

Celltrion said Monday that it applied for the European Medicine Agency’s commercialization approval of CT-P17, a Humira (adalimumab) biosimilar. CT-P17 is a highly potent biosimilar of AbbVie’s autoimmune disease treatment Humira, a blockbuster original that recorded $19.1 billion global revenue in 2019. If approved, the CT-P17 will be a meaningful addition to Celltrion’s portfolio for rheumato...

South Korea’s state-run research institutes and pharmaceutical firms are working hard to find a cure for the new coronavirus, according to news reports Monday. Around 15 firms and four institutes here are burning the midnight oil to get an effective cure, according to Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association. KPBMA Chairman Won Hee-mok emphasized the synergies between priva...

SKT CEO Park Jung-ho, Singtel CEO Chua Sock Koong and AIS CEO Somchai Lertsutiwong signed the contract via a remote telecommuting meeting -- a company first for a global contract of this scale -- out of considereation for the global spread of rampant COVID-19. By Lim Jeong-yeo ( kaylalim@heraldcorp.com )

“But then what? What actions can be taken based on the information we learn?” Hwang said. “Genomic knowledge must be aligned with solution providers to add value to consumers. There must be a scientific mapping with hospitals, fitness centers, food and cosmetics companies for an ecosystem that synergizes,” Hwang said. Theragen Etex has been co-researching with Amorepacific for four years and ha...

진행자: 임정요, Kevin Lee Selzer 1. Cabin fever sets in for those in isolation for coronavirus 아이튠즈(아이폰): https://itunes.apple.com/kr/podcast/koliaheleoldeu-paskaeseuteu/id686406253?mt=2 팟빵 (안드로이드): http://www.podbbang.com/ch/6638 [1] A 32-year-old librarian in Gumi-dong, Gyeonggi Province, who is expecting a baby in May, has not left her house for four days. Her daughter, 4, has been home all da...