Articles by Shim Woo-hyun
Shim Woo-hyun
ws@heraldcorp.com-
Pharmaceutical rivals partner for Fexuclue's sales
Daewoong Pharmaceutical has partnered with Chong Kun Dang for local sales of the gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) treatment Fexuclue, the country’s 34th new drug, the company said Monday. Fexuclue is a potassium-competitive acid blocker (P-CAB)-based GERD treatment that is designed to improve the shortcomings of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drugs, such as slow onset of action and dietary effects. P-CABs have the longest half-life of up to nine hours among GERD medicines and have a lon
Industry April 1, 2024
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Samsung Bioepis launches half-priced Soliris biosimilar
Samsung Bioepis, a biosimilar developer under Samsung Group, announced Monday that the company decided to launch its Soliris biosimilar Epysqli in Korea at a price nearly 50 percent cheaper than the original drug. Epysqli is a biosimilar referencing Soliris, a high-cost drug for the treatment of rare hematological disorders, developed by Alexion Pharmaceuticals. As of 2022, the drug generated global sales of approximately 5 trillion won ($3.7 billion). The global rights to Soliris are currently
Industry April 1, 2024
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Hanmi heirs may seek to repair with family first
The management conflict within the founding family of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group ended, as the sons of founder Lim Sung-ki -- Lim Jong-yoon and Lim Jong-hoon -- secured a majority within Hanmi Science’s board at the general meeting of shareholders last week. However, there are still multiple hurdles for the Lim brothers to get the country’s leading pharmaceuticals company back on track. According to industry sources Sunday, the Lim brothers are likely to attempt to repair the relatio
Industry March 31, 2024
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Hanmi-OCI merger called off
The expected merger between OCI Group and Hanmi Group has been called off after a general meeting of shareholders at Hanmi Science, the holding company of Korea's leading drug firm Hanmi Pharmaceutical, on Thursday. The management conflict within the founding family has also temporarily ended as Lim Jong-yoon and Lim Jong-hoon, the first and second sons of founder Lim Sung-ki, secured enough seats on Hanmi Science’s board to stop the merger. "(OCI) humbly accepts shareholders
Industry March 28, 2024
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Korea’s CMO ramp-up lures biotech investors
South Korea’s growing biopharmaceutical production capacity is increasingly making the country an attractive investment destination for global life science companies, industry sources said Thursday. Since 2016, global pharmaceutical and biotech firms started building their research and development centers and production facilities in Korea, especially within the Songdo Bio Cluster in Incheon, where the biopharmaceutical production capacity has reached 1.2 million liters, the world’s
Industry March 28, 2024
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Bang Kyung-man named as KT&G's new CEO
KT&G's Senior Executive Vice President Bang Kyung-man has cleared the final hurdle to become the company's CEO by winning shareholders approval Thursday, marking the cigarette maker's first leadership change in nine years. The decision was made at the company’s 37th annual general meeting of shareholders, held at KT&G Human Resources Development Center in Daejeon. “I am deeply grateful to the shareholders for entrusting me with the honorable opportunity to serv
Industry March 28, 2024
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Chang In-wha takes helm at Posco
Chang In-hwa, a company veteran, officially took office as chairman of South Korean steel giant Posco Group, the nation’s fifth-largest conglomerate, on Thursday after winning unanimous approval from shareholders. It marked the group’s first change in leadership in almost six years, following the conclusion of the second term of Choi Jeong-woo. No objection was made against the appointment during the general meeting of shareholders held in Seoul earlier in the day. Right after the ge
Industry March 21, 2024
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Merck to invest 300m euros in new bioprocessing center in Korea
German pharmaceutical group Merck Life Science said Thursday the company will invest around 300 million euros ($326 million) to build a new bioprocessing complex in South Korea, its largest investment yet in the Asia-Pacific region. The new investment comes as the company renews its commitment to expanding its production capacities for biotech products in the fast-growing market. It also aims to boost the overall biotech industry in the region, saying the new facility alone will create some 300
Industry March 21, 2024
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Drugmakers feeling pinch from doctors’ walkout
The ongoing tug-of-war between the South Korean government and medical professionals over the proposed increase in the number of medical students could have negative impacts on local drug companies’ revenues as well, industry sources said Tuesday. According to officials from local pharmaceutical companies, the ongoing walkout of local doctors is causing a short-term decrease in the overall use of drugs and medical supplies at local hospitals where surgeries are being postponed and appointm
Industry March 19, 2024
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[Herald Interview] ‘Meaty rice will become reality sooner than you think’
A Korean research team has recently unveiled a bowl of pink rice, a new lab-made hybrid rice, which they say could offer a cheaper and more sustainable source of protein not just for those on a vegan diet, but also for countries still reeling from food crises. “The lab-made beef rice could hit supermarket shelves sooner than you think if regulatory issues are cleared,” Hong Jin-kee, a chemical and biomolecular engineering professor at Yonsei University and the leader of the research
Industry March 18, 2024
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Celltrion's Zymfentra makes US debut
Korean biopharmaceuticals firm Celltrion announced Monday that its new autoimmune disease treatment Zymfentra has been launched in the US market. Zymfentra is a subcutaneous injection formulation of Celltrion's infliximab Remsima. In October last year, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Zymfentra (infliximab-dyyb) for the maintenance treatment of adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. "Infliximab is a well-established treatment
Industry March 18, 2024
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Yuhan restores chairperson post after 28 years
South Korean pharmaceutical giant Yuhan has decided to reinstate the chairperson and vice chairperson positions for the first time in 28 years, since Chairman Yeon Man-hee stepped down from his post in 1996. Yuhan shareholders approved changes to the articles of incorporation to reestablish the posts during the 101st general meeting of shareholders on Friday. Who will become the company’s chairperson and vice chairperson, however, has not yet been decided, according to the company. “
Industry March 15, 2024
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Nongshim earns over 50% of its profit from overseas on K-food hype
The sales and operating profit of South Korea's top ramyeon maker Nongshim hit all-time highs last year thanks to the popularity of ramyeon products in foreign markets, the company said Friday. The company’s operating profit in 2023 jumped by 89.1 percent from a year earlier to reach 212 billion won ($159 million), while its annual sales came to 3.4 trillion won, up 9 percent on-year. "As global inflation stubbornly remains high, ramyeon products have appealed to foreign consumer
Industry March 15, 2024
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[Photo News] Korean Air's new engine maintenance complex
Hanjin Group Chairman and Korean Air CEO Walter Cho (center) attends the groundbreaking ceremony of the flag carrier’s new aircraft engine maintenance cluster in Unbuk, near Incheon International Airport, on Thursday. The new 578 billion won ($439 million) facility, set to be operational by 2027, is expected to become the largest engine maintenance complex in Asia with an annual capacity of handling maintenance of some 360 aircraft. “The new facility will pave the way for Korean Air
Industry March 14, 2024
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Samsung Biologics on smooth ride for record orders
Samsung Biologics is off to a promising start this year with two large-scale contract manufacturing deal signings in March alone. According to Samsung Biologics on Wednesday, the company recently inked a contract manufacturing deal with MSD Switzerland, worth some $71 million. The deal, set to expire in December 2032, is a separate deal from the previous 277 billion won ($210 million) deal signed between the two companies in 2022. Samsung Biologics declined to reveal the product details of the n
Industry March 13, 2024
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