LifeStyle

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  SK Bioscience gets CEPI's additional fund for research into COVID-19 virus variants SEOUL -- To secure COVID-19 vaccines capable of preventing mutant viruses, SK Bioscience will receive an additional research fund of up to $14.2 million from an international foundation that finances vaccine research projects, by utilizing the development platform of its vaccine candidate code-named GBP510 which is at the stage of clinical trials. As a result, SK Bioscience, a partner for South Korea's state project to develop COVID-19 vaccines, can receive a total of $40.3 mill 2021-03-11
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  Kakao Mobility jumps into pet taxi business thru acquisition of domestic startup SEOUL -- The mobility service wing of South Korea's internet service giant Kakao jumped into a pet taxi business through the acquisition of a domestic startup that has gained popularity since its debut in 2016. South Korea has seen rapid growth in food and service markets for cats and dogs, with pet hotels emerging as a lucrative business. South Korea's first pet taxi startup, Pet Me Up, said in a public notice posted on its website on March 9 that its service would be taken 2021-03-09
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  Scuba diving in Cebu cited as most viewed content in LG Uplus VR platform SEOUL -- A scuba diving series showing sea creatures in the open waters of the Philippine island province of Cebu was chosen as the content watched the most viewed content in 2020 through a virtual reality content application launched by LG Uplus, a mobile carrier in South Korea. More and more people want vicarious satisfaction with virtual reality because traveling abroad is virtually impossible due to COVID-19. Cebu, one of the top tourist destinations in the Philippines, has ma 2021-03-02
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  State hospital succeeds in inserting wireless pacemakers into hearts of bradyarrhythmia patients SEOUL -- A medical team at Seoul National University Hospital has succeeded in inserting small wireless pacemakers into the hearts of two patients with bradyarrhythmia in the first operation of its kind in South Korea where artificial pacemakers are used for thousands of people every year. The wireless pacemaker eliminates potential medical complications arising from a chest incision and from wires running from a conventional pacemaker. Bradyarrhythmia describes a slow heart rat 2021-02-26
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  Boryung secure exclusive rights to sell nano-particle anticancer drug developed by SN Bioscience SEOUL -- Boryung Pharmaceutical has secured exclusive rights to sell 'SNB-101, a nano-particle anticancer drug developed by SN Bioscience, for 10 years after its release in South Korea. Discussion is also under way to sell the drug in Asian countries. SN-38 is a potent active metabolite of irinotecan with a wide range of anti-tumor effects, but it has extremely low solubility in biological fluids. SN Bioscience, a nano-medicine research and development company in South Korea, ha 2021-02-24
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  Semiconductor-based fast test kit using saliva able to debut in March: science minister SEOUL -- A semiconductor-based fast test kit capable of diagnosing COVID-19 with saliva in three minutes is able to make its commercial debut probably in March, South Korea's science minister said. Health officials have hinted at adopting easy sampling using saliva, although they still stick to a molecular biology technique that amplifies specific DNA samples for accuracy. South Korea is trying to unveil a "completely new concept" of test devices through joint work b 2021-02-22
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  U.S. research company Lifex works with S. Korea's Macrogen to develop Parkinson's disease treatment SEOUL -- Lifex Biolabs, an American pharmaceutical research company, will work with Macrogen, a biotech company and expert in genomic analysis in South Korea, to develop Parkinson's disease treatment as part of their strategic partnership. Macrogen said that it would select a biomarker, based on DNA sequencing technology. A biomarker is a measurable indicator of the severity or presence of some disease state. In 2020, Macrogen made a strategic investment in the form of loans to 2021-02-22
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  COVID-19 accelerates virtual experience shopping in fashion industry SEOUL -- Non-face-to-face consumption has become a new daily life due to a COVID-19 pandemic, accelerating the era of virtual experience shopping in South Korea's fashion industry which is striving to ride out a period of hardships by adopting new technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality. According to the National Statistical Office, online shopping transactions were up 19.1 percent on-year to a record high of 161.1 trillion won ($145 billion) in 2020. Sh 2021-02-19
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  Genexine's joint venture in Indonesia allowed to use immunotherapeutic drug in ASEAN and elsewhere SEOUL -- Along with technology transfer, a joint venture of Indonesian pharmaceutical group Kalbe Farma and Genexine, a clinical-stage biotechnology company in South Korea, has been granted the right to use GX-I7, an immunotherapeutic drug candidate, in ASEAN, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. GX-I7 is in second-stage clinical trials to confirm o see if it is effective in the treatment of COVID-19. Genexine has said that GX-I7 showed good efficacy when used in combination 2021-02-18
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  Russia's Sputnik vaccine draws attention ahead of new CMO deal in S. Korea SEOUL -- Sputnik V, a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Russia's state research center, was thrown into the spotlight ahead of a trip by Russian officials for discussion with a consignment production partner in South Korea. The trip underscores Russia's move to expand the production of its vaccine which is attracting attention from many countries after shedding an initial negative image. A Russian team involved in the development of Sputnik V is to visit South Korea probably in 2021-02-10
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  Genexine works with domestic partners to use cloned pigs for xenotransplantation SEOUL -- Genexine, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, will establish a cooperative system for clinical trials in cooperation with two domestic partners, GenNBio and ToolGen, for their joint research into xenotransplantation using genetically modified pigs. The rejection of animal organs in human bodies has been a major cause of transplant failure. Cloned pigs have been genetically modified for stable xeno-transplantation. ToolGen, a South Korean developer of genome editing te 2021-02-09
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  Russian vaccine mentioned as potential option for vaccination in S. Korea SEOUL -- South Korea's anti-epidemic control center left the door open for the introduction of Russia's Sputnik vaccine which largely failed to win international recognition because it was rolled out without final trial data on its efficacy and safety, as domestic developers make no visible progress in releasing home-made COVID-19 vaccines amid growing concerns over the relatively slow introduction of proven foreign products. "Regarding Russia's Sputnik vaccine, we 2021-02-08
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  Bukwang's COVID-19 treatment wins FDA approve to go ahead with second-phase clinical trials SEOUL -- Bukwang Pharm based in South Korea has won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to go ahead with second-phase clinical trials to check if its antiviral drug Levovir is effective and safe in treating COVID-19 patients. Levovir (clevudine) has been approved in South Korea and the Philippines as hepatitis B infection treatment. Except for severe symptoms, 40 patients will be injected with Levovir and placebo. In South Korea, Bukwang has already recruited some 2021-02-05
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  Celltrion's antibody COVID-19 treatment wins approval from S. Korean state watchdog SEOUL -- South Korea's drug safety watchdog approved Celltrion's antibody treatment code-named CT-P59, which has been developed as an intravenous injection for patients. It became South Korea's first treatment for COVID-19. As CT-P59 has the advantage of forming antibodies immediately after administration, medical personnel and other vulnerable people will be able to prevent infections. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety decided to grant permission on the condition tha 2021-02-05
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  Experts give conditional consent to AstraZeneca's vaccine for people over 65 SEOUL -- South Korean experts gave conditional consent to the use of British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for old people over the age of 65, saying that preventive effects have been confirmed in all age groups, along with a good safety profile. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has consulted an advisory group of eight experts to address concerns that the AstraZeneca vaccine, created in conjunction with the University of Oxford, could be less effective in p 2021-02-01
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  Canada approves Celltrion's subcutaneous injection for rheumatoid arthritis indication SEOUL -- Celltrion's Remsima SC, the subcutaneous injection of Remsima, a copy of Janssen Biotech's Remicade treating rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease, has secured approval from Canada's state health watchdog. Celltrion saw the green light as a bridgehead for its entry into the United States. Remsima SC can be injected into the fat layer beneath the skin at home. Celltrion, a leading biosimilar manufacturer in South Korea, said on February 1 that Health Can 2021-02-01
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  GC Labcell exports original technology for U.S. deal to develop cell therapies SEOUL -- GC Labcell, a manufacturer of cell therapy products in South Korea, will export its original platform technology and participates in joint research with its U.S. partner under a deal with Merck, an American pharmaceutical company, to develop novel chimeric antigen receptor-natural killer cell therapies targeting solid tumor-associated antigens. GC Labcell said in a regulatory filing on January 29 that Artiva Biotherapeutics, a San Diego-based oncology company founded by S 2021-01-29
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  ToolGen ties up with 3D bioprinting company to apply induced pluripotent stem cells to gene correction SEOUL -- ToolGen, a South Korean developer of genome editing technology, tied up with T&R Biofab, a 3D bioprinting company, to cooperate in applying induced pluripotent stem cells to gene correction. ToolGen has original technology related to third-generation gene scissors to cut out genetic information in cells. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are derived from skin or blood cells that have been reprogrammed back into an embryonic-like pluripotent state that enables t 2021-01-28
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  SK Bioscience selected to manage COVID-19 vaccine distribution in S. Korea SEOUL -- SK Bioscience, a cooperation partner for South Korea's state project to develop COVID-19 vaccines, has been selected to manage the nationwide distribution of vaccines that will be imported sequentially from February. The company will establish an integrated control center based on Internet of Things (IoT). SK Bioscience will establish a customized cold chain system for each vaccine and monitor temperature and delivery in real-time through cooperation with m2cloud, a dom 2021-01-22
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  S. Korea approves clinical trials for 7th COVID-19 vaccine candidate SEOUL -- Clinical trials to test the efficacy and safety of a recombinant COVID-19 vaccine candidate being developed by Eubiologics, a biopharmaceutical company and vaccine developer in South Korea, won state approval. It is the seventh COVID-19 vaccine candidate in a developmental state in South Korea. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said in a statement on January 21 that clinical trials for Eubiologics' vaccine candidate codenamed "Eucorvac-19" have been appro 2021-01-21