SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — A surge in global gold prices is prompting South Korean pharmaceutical companies to rethink a long-standing workplace tradition: rewarding long-serving employees with gold. As bullion prices climb to record highs, several drugmakers have begun replacing gold gifts with cash bonuses, citing sharply rising costs. Industry officials said the shift reflects [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – SK bioscience Co., a biopharmaceutical arm of South Korea’s SK Group, said Thursday it will accelerate the development of a Zaire Ebola virus vaccine with funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). The announcement follows a funding agreement between CEPI and U.S. pharmaceutical company MSD to support [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Epis Holdings, the holding company of biosimilar drug maker Samsung Bioepis, said it plans to expand its biosimilar lineup to 20 products by 2030, signaling a more aggressive push to scale its global drug portfolio while branching into novel therapies. Kim Kyung-ah, president and chief executive of Samsung Epis [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Biologics, the biotechnology arm of Samsung Group, said Wednesday it is weighing construction of a sixth manufacturing plant in South Korea and further expansion of its U.S. operations this year, underscoring its push to scale up as global demand for biologic drugs rises. The potential expansion would support [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will strengthen its public system for supplying essential medicines and medical devices in 2026, seeking to prevent treatment disruptions and reduce patients’ financial burdens, the government said this week. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it will expand emergency import programs for rare and essential drugs, [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Korea Bizwire) – Astrogen Inc., a South Korean clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, said Wednesday it has signed a US$208.5 million deal with a Middle Eastern company to supply a therapeutic material for treating the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The partnership with United Arab Emirates-based pharmaceutical distributor Cigalah Medpharm Trading LLC [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Celltrion Inc., a major South Korean biopharmaceutical company, said Wednesday it expects its annual operating profit to exceed 1 trillion won (US$693 million) for the first time this year, driven by strong sales of high-end products. The company forecast its operating profit will more than double to 1.16 trillion [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s two leading biosimilar makers, Celltrion and Samsung Bioepis, are converging in global scale but diverging sharply in how they produce and sell their medicines, according to a new industry analysis released this week. A report by Korea Ratings said the contrasting strategies have become a defining feature of [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Bioepis Co., a biosimilar drug developer under Samsung Group, said Tuesday it has received approval to sell its biosimilar treatment for autoimmune disease in Japan. The biosimilar, which references U.S. biotechnology firm Johnson & Johnson’s original drug Stelara, was approved under the product name Ustekinumab BS Subcutaneous Injection [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Biologics Co., the contract drug manufacturing arm of South Korea’s Samsung Group, said Monday that its U.S. subsidiary will acquire a biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility from GSK for 413.6 billion won ($280 million), marking its first manufacturing footprint in the United States. Samsung Biologics America has agreed to purchase a [...]