LifeStyle

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  Hanmi partners with RAPT Therapeutics to develop and commercialize FLX475 for cancer treatment SEOUL -- As part of a campaign to regain reputation as a major drugmaker in South Korea, Hanmi Pharmaceutical signed a license and collaboration agreement with RAPT Therapeutics, an American clinical stage immunology-based biopharmaceutical company, to develop and commercialize FLX475 for the treatment of multiple cancers in Asia. FLX475 is a small molecule CCR4 antagonist designed to block the migration of regulatory T cells specifically into tumo 2019-12-04
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  SK's bio unit allowed to conduct clinical first phase test of new antii-epileptic drug SEOUL -- SK Biopharmaceuticals has received U.S. approval for the clinical first phase test of its new drug SKL24741, which would be the company's second treatment for epilepsy following Xcopri (cenobamate), a new anti-epileptic drug which would be available in the American market in the second quarter of next year. SK Biopharmaceuticals said Tuesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an investigational new drug (IND) 2019-12-03
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  Bio company Alteogen secures major deal to export human hyaluronidase technology SEOUL -- Alteogen, a bio company in South Korea, has clinched a deal with an unspecified global pharmaceutical company to export its human hyaluronidase technology called ALT-B4 that can replace intravenous drugs with subcutaneous ones. Alteogen said that ALT-B4 would be mixed with other biomedicine to develop and commercialize new products. The front payment is about 15.3 billion won ($12.9 million) and the contract's total value will be about 1.62 trillio 2019-12-02
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  S. Korea bans microbeads for toothpaste and detergents from 2021 SEOUL -- Microbeads will not be available for toothpaste and detergents from 2021 in South Korea in line with a global trend to regulate plastic particles that can cause water pollution and pose an environmental hazard for aquatic animals. Microbeads, which are manufactured solid plastic particles of less than one millimeter in their largest dimension, are added as an exfoliating agent to cosmetics and personal care products, such as soap, facial scrub and toothpas 2019-11-26
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  Celltrion acquires European approval to sell Remsima SC for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis SEOUL -- Celltrion, a bio firm in South Korea, has acquired final approval to sell Remsima SC, the subcutaneous injection of Remsima, a copy of Janssen Biotech's Remicade treating rheumatoid arthritis, in Europe, opening the way for worldwide distribution. The company plans to acquire U.S. approval in 2022. Celltrion said on Tuesday that the European Medicines Agency (EMA), an EU agency in charge of the evaluation and supervision of medicinal products, h 2019-11-26
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  Oriental medicine researchers study efficacy of cicada shells in Parkinson's disease SEOUL -- Oriental medicine researchers in South Korea claimed to have proved through animal testing that the cast-off skin of cicadas can improve the motor function of Parkinson's patients by digging out a clue from a 17th-century medical book compiled by a Joseon Dynasty royal physician. The Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (KIOM) said Wednesday that its research team has conducted an animal experiment to prove that cicada shell extracts activate Nurr1, a 2019-11-20
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  One-third of ultra-fine dust in S. Korea attributed to China: joint survey SEOUL -- China has made strenuous efforts to reduce air pollution, but about one-third of ultra-fine dust concentrations in South Korea was found to have come across the Yellow Sea in 2017, according to a joint study on the transboundary movement of pollutants in Northeast Asia. The National Institute of Environmental Research, a state research body, released the summary of a joint survey conducted by experts in South Korea, China and Japan to measure the concentration 2019-11-20
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  Incheon airport gateway embarks on expansion of facilities and infrastructure SEOUL -- Far from being content with its reputation as one of the world's best airports, Incheon International Airport, South Korea's main gateway west of Seoul, embarked on the expansion of facilities and infrastructure to provide customized services that utilize big data, virtual reality and other new technologies, 22 months after it opened the second passenger terminal. With an injection of 4.84 trillion won ($4.15 billion), th 2019-11-19
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  [INTERVIEW] New Gladstone study provides 'new insight into disease mechanism and target' for dementia SEOUL -- Despite numerous clinical trials led by pharmaceutical companies, it has been very challenging to develop a medication that can cure dementia, but a research team from Gladstone Institutes is cautiously hopeful about overcoming it thanks to a growing understanding of basic disease processes and advanced gene-editing technology. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive disorder that causes brain cells to degenerate and die. There are medicines that help slo 2019-11-18
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  Gladstone researchers reveal new information for development of dementia medications SEOUL -- Alzheimer's disease is a progressive disorder that causes brain cells to degenerate and die. Common symptoms are a continuous decline in an ability to think, the loss of memory and disruption in a person's ability to function as an individual human being. There are medicines that help slow the degeneration of the brain and reduce some symptoms. However, there's no actual cure to Alzheimer's disease despite efforts by scientists to find eff 2019-11-12
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  Meditox ordered to recall some botox products distributed abroad SEOUL -- Medytox, a major botulinum toxin (botox) producer in South Korea, was ordered by a state watchdog to recall and dispose of some products distributed abroad because they were found to be unfit for quality standards. The company's botox product, named Meditoxin in South Korea and Neuronox abroad, was approved in March 2006. Since botox was introduced in South Korea mainly for aesthetic treatment of facial wrinkles, Medytox has seen dramatic growth in s 2019-10-17
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  Cosmetics used by 18th-century princess contain harmful substances SEOUL -- For makeup, royal family women during the Joseon dynasty that ruled the Korean peninsula from 1392 to 1897 were found to have used cosmetics that contained harmful substances such as carbonated lead and mercury. In an excavation that began at the Joseon Dynasty tomb of King Yeongjo's daughter in Namyangju, a city east of Seoul, archaeologists discovered burial accessories including a collection of small porcelain cosmetic contai 2019-10-07
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  CHA Biotech secures U.S. patent on manufacturing placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells SEOUL -- CHA Biotech, a biopharmaceutical company with South Korea's largest pipeline of stem cell therapies, has obtained a U.S. patent on the method of growing stem cells separated from the placenta's amniotic membrane that can be used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and cerebral infarction. The patent is related to a technology that allows stem cells to be mass grown in high purity. Compared to existing adult stem cells, CHA Biotech 2019-09-30
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  [INTERVIEW] Expert demands 'extreme' measures to contain spread of African swine fever SEOUL -- South Korea should take "extreme" measures by declaring a state of disaster to contain the spread of African swine fever, which hit two pig farms in a row this week near the inter-Korean border, an expert said, warning that if unchecked, the deadly animal virus could cause catastrophic industrial damage. "All pigs on the Korean peninsula could be wiped out. You should also be mindful of the domino effect," Food Biz Lab head Moon Jung-hoon, 2019-09-18
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  Scientists develop novel kit for early detection of Alzheimer's disease SEOUL -- South Korean scientists claimed to have developed a novel kit for the early and convenient detection of Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia. Related technologies have been transferred to private companies and clinical tests are underway with the aim of making them available at the end of this year. The kit for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is composed of fluorescent nanoparticles, the scientists including Kim Myeong 2019-09-16
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  Space program revised again to delay 2020 launch of unmanned lunar orbiter SEOUL -- South Korea put off the planned 2020 launch of an unmanned lunar orbiter by 19 months due to technical limitations and a dispute among engineers over its design, weight and mission. SpaceX, a private US aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company, was selected to carry the orbiter. The lunar orbiter installed with six payloads including cameras, a gamma-ray spectrometer and space Internet test equipment, wo 2019-09-10
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  Steel industry gets conditional approval to use blast furnace bleeder valves SEOUL -- South Korea's steel industry heaved a sigh of relief after it won conditional approval to go ahead with the artificial use of blast furnace bleeder valves that have been criticized by environmental activists and regional communities for aggravating air pollution caused by fine dust and other hazardous particles. Posco and Hyundai Steel, the country's two largest steel companies, have been under pressure to reduce the emittance of air pollutants by 2019-09-04
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  S. Korea embarks on project to introduce e-prescription in medical sector SEOUL -- As part of a campaign to realize a paperless society through the active use of electronic documents in public, financial, distribution and medical services, South Korea's science ministry has selected two companies to introduce an electronic prescription system in the medical sector which has issued more than 500 million paper prescriptions annually. The Ministry of Science and ICT said Thursday that its has selected UBcare, a healthcare company, and C 2019-08-22
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  Xenotransplantation expert joins bio company to speed up research on animal-to-human organ transplants SEOUL -- A research team led by Park Chung-gyu, a leading expert in xenotransplantation, has joined a domestic bio company to speed up research on animal-to-human organ transplants free of rejection using genetically modified pigs. Park, a professor at Seoul National University of Medicine who headed the state-financed Xenotransplantation Research Center, will work with GenNBio specializing in experiment and analysis of new drugs and organ transplantation as w 2019-08-21
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  ​CMG wins $55.2 mln deal from China to provide thin film for erectile dysfunction SEOUL -- CMG Pharmaceutical, a unit of South Korea's CHA biomedical group, has won a $55.2 million deal to provide Tadalafil OTF (oral thin film) products for erectile dysfunction to a Chinese company. Tadalafil has been sold under the brand name Cialis. CMG said in a regulatory filing on Friday that the five-year OTF deal with Chongqing Zein Health Industry Investment Group is its largest single export contract which is equivalent to 130.8 percent of its conso 2019-07-19