South Korean biotech company Next & Bio, which specializes in developing organoid-based medicine solutions, aims to build the largest organoid library in Asia, its CEO told The Korea Herald in a recent interview. Organoids are cell-based in vitro models that mimic many aspects of the complex structure and function of the corresponding human organs. Organoid-based systems have been recently spotlighted as alternatives to animal experimentation in clinical research and precision medicine. &ldq

Industry Sept. 21, 2023

South Korean biopharmaceutical company Samsung Biologics said Wednesday that the company achieved a stellar performance last year to stand shoulder to shoulder with top global pharmaceutical companies, buoyed by an array of large contract manufacturing deals. The company has been ranked in 37th place in market research company GlobalData’s list of the world's top 50 pharmaceutical companies in 2022, up 13 spots from 2021. According to the rankings, which listed companies based on thei

Industry Sept. 19, 2023

Samsung Biologics said Monday that the company signed a $242 million contract manufacturing deal with Bristol-Myers Squibb subsidiary Swords Laboratories to produce immunotherapy treatments until 2030. Under the latest contract, Samsung Biologics will produce the flagship immunotherapies of BMS at the company’s fourth plant over the next seven years. BMS, the world's seventh-largest biopharmaceutical company as of 2022 in terms of its sales, has been a client of Samsung Biologics sinc

Industry Sept. 18, 2023

McDonald's Korea said Friday that the company has upgraded its self-service kiosks for visually impaired customers at 15 stores located in Seoul. The company said the new kiosks come with new keypads and headphone jacks, through which visually impaired users can connect their headphones and browse the menu. The 15 stores have been selected based on their proximity to welfare institutions, education institutes and job centers for visually impaired people. McDonald's Korea noted that t

Consumer Sept. 15, 2023

Musinsa, the largest online fashion platform in South Korea, has kicked off a preview event that showcases local fashion brands' collections for spring-summer 2024, the company said Friday. Under the title of “24ss Musinsa Season Preview,” the company will showcase over 200 products designed by 30 local brands at Musinsa Terrace Seongsu and Musinsa’s three separate offline studios in the Seongsu-dong neighborhood in eastern Seoul. Musinsa's latest event has been organ

Consumer Sept. 15, 2023

Posco Holdings said Thursday that the company has agreed to cooperate with CF Industries, the world's largest ammonia producer, to co-produce blue ammonia in the US. CF Industries operates ammonia manufacturing plants across the US and Canada, with an annual manufacturing capacity of around 9 million metric tons. Under the agreement signed in Seoul earlier in the day, Posco Holdings and CF Industries will work together on a blue ammonia project in Louisiana. The two companies will build a n

Industry Sept. 14, 2023

South Korean bakery giant SPC Group said Wednesday that it is opening nine new Paris Baguette stores in North America this month, seeking a bigger footing in one of the key strategic markets. With the planned nine new openings, SPC will be operating a total of 150 stores in the region. In Canada, SPC will open a Paris Baguette store at the Southpark on Whyte, a residential complex located in Alberta on Friday, while another outlet is set to open in Newmarket, Ontario, next week. In the US, seven

Consumer Sept. 13, 2023

Kolmar Korea announced Monday that the company has won a lawsuit against Italian cosmetics manufacturer Intercos’ local office here, which allegedly transferred trade secrets about sun care product technology. According to Kolmar Korea, the Seoul Central District Court has ruled in favor of Kolmar Korea in a civil case, in which Kolmar Korea accused Intercos Korea and its two former employees of stealing confidential technologies related to Kolmar’s sun care products. The court has o

Industry Sept. 11, 2023

South Korean construction companies have secured new orders worth $21.9 billion in overseas markets between January and August, according to the International Contractors Association of Korea, Sunday. The association said the total value of construction orders made overseas during the eight-month period was up by 19.9 percent on-year. It is also the first time that the value has surpassed $20 billion since 2018, when overseas construction orders in the January-August period were worth a combined

Industry Sept. 10, 2023

Gout has long been thought of as a “disease of kings” due to its apparent link to a diet rich in meat and alcohol consumption. With rapid economic growth and dietary changes, the number of such patients has almost doubled in South Korea over the past decade. More recently, the incidence has been rising in people in their 20s and 30s. According to the National Health Insurance Service, more than half a million Koreans (508,397) suffered the disease in 2022, compared to 265,065 patient

Industry Sept. 2, 2023

L’Oreal Korea, making its 30th anniversary this year, said Friday it would boost collaboration with South Korean partners to ride the K-beauty boom around the world. “Korea has a very strategic and strong role to play within the ecosystem of the North Asia Beauty Triangle,” Fabrice Megarbane, president of the company’s North Asia Zone and CEO of L’Oreal China, during a press conference at the Korean unit’s headquarters in southern Seoul. The North Asia Beauty

Consumer Sept. 1, 2023

Posco America, a subsidiary of Poscho Holdings, will relocate its headquarters from Atlanta to the nation's capital, in a move to strengthen its relations with the federal government and US Congress, the group said Wednesday. Posco America’s head Do Han-eui and other staff members will start to work at the new office in Washington from as early as this week. The group will also dispatch employees specializing in trade affairs from South Korea's office. The company’s new off

Industry Aug. 30, 2023

South Korean builder GS Engineering & Construction, facing an unprecedented business suspension for up to 10 months over the recent collapse of an underground parking lot it built, seems to have no other way but to go abroad to seek new business opportunities for the time being, industry sources said Monday. According to an official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the government will push to suspend the company’s operations for eight months under the land minister&

Industry Aug. 28, 2023

High-end Korean hotels have continued to raise prices this year of mango bingsu, a Korean shaved ice dessert popular in the summer, despite mango prices having stabilized. This year, Four Seasons Hotel Seoul sold its mango bingsu at 126,000 won ($94), 31.3 percent higher than last year. Shilla Seoul also raised the price of its progenitor luxury mango bingsu by 18.1 percent to 98,000 won, while Lotte Hotel increased the price by 4.5 percent to 92,000 won. The price rally drew particular attentio

Industry Aug. 23, 2023

South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang said Wednesday it launched a new global marketing campaign for its Bibigo brand, dubbed “Live Delicious.” The campaign clip, featuring a TikTok-friendly dance and music, was distributed in Korea, the US, Europe, Japan, China, and Thailand via YouTube. “If the company’s past campaign for Bibigo aimed to build connections with customers by focusing on the integrity of our food products, the latest campaign focuses more on appealing to

Consumer Aug. 23, 2023