Lotte Biologics announced on the 16th that it has signed a tri-party memorandum of understanding (MOU) with global new drug development companies Axcelead and Kanaph Therapeutics to build an “ADC toolbox” for the development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADC). Under this agreement, the three companies plan to collaborate on the joint research and development of key technologies for next-generation anticancer drug ADC development, including linkers and payloads. Axcelead, a contract research organization (CRO) spun off from Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical, aims to discover new payload candidate substances using its library, which contains more than 1.2 million compounds and over 1,000 new drug development data from Takeda. Kanaph Therapeutics focuses on building innovative platforms that overcome the limitations of existing linkers and payloads in the ADC development process. The research results, such as linkers and payloads developed through this agreement, will be transferred to Lotte Biologics, which will provide ADC toolbox services that allow the selection and utilization of various technologies according to customer needs in the future.
Huons Meditech, a medical device corporation under the Huons Group, announced on the 16th that it launched the electric drug infusion pump “Derma Shine Pro” in Australia. During the launch event, the company introduced the procedure for “Derma Shine Pro” to about 200 local medical professionals. Notably, Director Choi Ho-sung of the Pienar Clinic conducted a live demonstration of the Derma Shine Pro, garnering significant interest. Derma Shine Pro is a skin aesthetic medical device equipped with precise drug infusion capabilities and a user-centered interface. The company has obtained certification for the Derma Shine Pro from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), and based on this, it plans to aggressively market in the Australian market and expand into the global aesthetic market.
ENCell announced on the 16th that it participated in the 2025 International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Annual Meeting held in Hong Kong from the 11th to the 14th and presented the results of its clinical phase 1 trial for its new drug pipeline EN001. In the long-term follow-up of the single administration clinical phase 1 trial of EN001 in CMT1A (Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A) patients, no side effects were found up to 48 weeks, proving the safety of EN001. Additionally, exploratory efficacy evaluation results indicated that the therapeutic efficacy was maintained even in high-dose administration groups. The company has recently sought opportunities for Global Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) orders and technology exports through proactive promotion of EN001, which has recently been designated as an orphan drug by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Boryung Consumer Healthcare, a subsidiary of Boryung, announced on the 16th that it will launch a collaboration product for the phlegm-relieving agent “Yonggaksankul” in partnership with the popular character brand “Kungya Restaurants.” Kungya Restaurants is a spin-off brand of “Kungya” developed by MNB. The company plans to showcase a product that incorporates the “Onion Kungya” character from Kungya Restaurants in its packaging. Yonggaksankul is a product processed into fine powder form containing a total of six herbal ingredients, including licorice and ginger. It is effective in immediately alleviating various throat symptoms such as cough, phlegm, throat pain, swelling, discomfort, and hoarseness.
HLB Group announced on the 16th that HLB Pharma and HLB Cell will participate in the “Bio International Convention 2025 (BioUSA),” the world’s largest bio industry exhibition, held in Boston, USA, from the 16th to the 19th (local time). HLB Pharma plans to hold business meetings to discuss technology transfers of its independently developed “long-acting injection platform (SMEB)” and to explore joint research and strategic partnerships at this year’s BioUSA.
GC Biopharma announced on the 16th that it participated as the main sponsor in the “2025 Korean-American Association of Pharmaceutical Professionals (KASBP) Spring Symposium” held in Maryland, USA, on the 13th and 14th, and shared its global clinical strategies. The company presented its US clinical trials and FDA approval experiences for “Aliglo” and the clinical strategies for its ongoing rare disease pipeline. In particular, the company reported that it focused on introducing its development strategies and current clinical research statuses for treatments for Sanfilippo syndrome and Fabry disease.
SillaJen announced on the 16th that it received approval from the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) to expand the clinical trial plan (IND) for the anticancer agent BAL0891 to patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Accordingly, the company plans to confirm the dosage, safety, and efficacy through initial clinical trials targeting patients with relapsed and refractory acute myeloid leukemia in Korea. In April, it received FDA approval for acute myeloid leukemia clinical trials, with participation from US cancer research institutions, including the MD Anderson Cancer Center. According to presentations at the recent European Hematology Association (EHA 2025) conference, BAL0891 showed significant tumor growth inhibition and survival rate increase effects in the MOLM-14 acute myeloid leukemia transplantation model.
Yuhan Corporation announced on the 16th that it will operate a “Founding Anniversary Sharing Week” in celebration of its 99th anniversary, involving participation from employees at various business sites. The Founding Anniversary Sharing Week will take place from the 10th to the 19th and includes volunteer activities in collaboration with local communities at each business site, hands-on sharing activities regardless of time and place, and programs for the children of employees. This is the first time the company has planned a Founding Anniversary Sharing Week to reflect on its founding spirit and to strengthen ESG management and promote a culture of practical sharing.
Medical aesthetic company J-Sys Medical announced on the 16th that it participated in the “IMCAS Asia 2025” held from the 6th to the 8th at the Athens Luxury Collection Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. IMCAS Asia is an international academic forum that shares the latest technologies and clinical outcomes in aesthetic medicine, including plastic surgery, dermatology, laser, and botulinum toxin. The company conducted lectures focusing on its representative devices, “DENSITY” and “LinearZ,” during this event.
Medytox Korea announced on the 16th that it has obtained an ESG management comprehensive “Excellent (A)” grade for two consecutive years based on its own ESG assessment indicators. Last year, it established industry-first ESG indicators and conducted its first evaluation. This year, it has successfully integrated ESG into its management strategies and organizational culture while enhancing its operational systems. Medytox regards ESG as not just a vision, but as an operational philosophy inherent in all its business processes.
Shin Poong Pharm announced on the 16th that it has obtained a patent from the European Patent Office (EPO) for “pharmaceutical compositions for the prevention or treatment of epidemic RNA virus infections” using Pyramex (pyranidine phosphate-artesunate), which is approved for malaria treatment. The patent for the new use of “Pyramex” covers not only Artemisinin derivatives that include the active ingredients Pyranidine or Artesunate but also compounds formed by their combination. The company explained that this patent recognizes efficacy against various coronavirus respiratory infections, including novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), as well as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome).
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 16th that it will inspect the compliance of advertisements for medical devices with false or exaggerated claims, targeting medical device sales companies, in collaboration with 17 local governments to prevent consumer harm. The inspections will take place from the 16th to July 4th over three weeks and will focus on false or exaggerated advertisements regarding the performance, efficacy, and effects of medical devices, ads that mislead consumers into thinking of consumer goods as medical devices, and the appropriateness of medical device labeling. The ministry will examine advertising banners and printed promotional materials from medical device sales companies.
The Food and Drug Safety Evaluation Institute of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 16th that it will conduct the “8th Asia-Pacific Regulatory Agency Training on Biopharmaceutical Quality Control” over five days from the 16th to the 20th for regulatory agency officials in the Asia-Pacific region. Since its designation as a WHO collaborative center in 2011 for the standardization and evaluation of biopharmaceuticals, the Ministry has been providing training to strengthen the regulatory capabilities of Asia-Pacific regulatory agencies in the management of biopharmaceuticals since 2015. This training will include theoretical and practical instruction on quality control for biopharmaceuticals, including shipping approval tests for vaccines (cholera, seasonal flu) and plasma fractionation preparations, as well as guidance on the national shipping approval system.
Seoul Asan Medical Center announced on the 16th that the Colorectal Cancer Center’s colorectal surgery unit has surpassed 3,000 robotic surgeries for colorectal cancer, the first hospital in the country to achieve this milestone. According to the hospital, the Colorectal Cancer Center at Seoul Asan Medical Center has performed a total of 39,000 colorectal cancer surgeries to date, including 13,000 laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgeries and 3,000 robotic colorectal cancer surgeries, leading the surgical treatment of colorectal cancer. Based on extensive surgical experience, the center boasts surgical results that are world-class. The five-year survival rate for patients who underwent rectal cancer surgery at the Colorectal Cancer Center is highly outstanding, at 96.6% for stage 1 and 94.8% for stage 2. For challenging stage 3 patients, the five-year survival rate improved from 83.1% in 2015 to 91.3% in 2017, a significant increase of 8.2 percentage points.
Korea University Ansan Hospital announced on the 16th that Professor Kim Nan-hee’s research team at the Department of Endocrinology has developed diabetes risk analysis software (JDA-01K), which recently received medical device manufacturing approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. JDA-01K is the first approved case in the new category of “Diabetes Risk Assessment Software” established by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety last February. JDA-01K applies machine learning and deep learning technologies to predict the risk of diabetes based on clinical data and genetic information. When healthcare professionals enter users' physical information, blood test results, and other clinical data, the software integrates the genetic information to identify the risk of diabetes and major risk factors, allowing for customized prevention strategies.
Yuhan Foundation announced on the 16th that it has appointed Professor Won Hee-mok of Seoul National University as its new chairman. The new chairman is an expert with extensive experience in health care and public policy, having served as president of the Korean Pharmaceutical Association, a member of the 18th National Assembly (Health and Welfare Committee), director of the Korean Social Security Information Service, and president of the Korean Pharmaceutical and Bio Association. He is currently also serving as an advisor to the Korean Pharmaceutical and Bio Association, chairman of the Korean Global Health Alliance, and permanent representative of the Hope Sharing Council.
Hallym University announced on the 16th that it will hold the “Hallym Brain Conference” from the 16th to the 20th for a total of five days at the Hallym University Ilsong Art Hall and International Conference Room, in collaboration with Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital and New Frontier Research Institute. The Hallym Brain Conference is an international academic event that broadly addresses the practical application of digital health data in clinical settings, global joint research, clinical substantiation, and the potential for industrialization. This event is supported by the “KOBRA Advanced Bio Research Cooperation Center International Research Exchange Program” from the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Hallym Foundation.