■Y-Biologics, an antibody drug specialist corporation, announced on the 17th that it has signed a technology transfer agreement for the Stealth-Body platform, an Fc silencing technology, with CrossPoint Therapeutics. This enables the company to secure rights to apply Stealth-Body technology to multiple pipelines, including Multi-AbKine, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and multi-antibody T cell engagers. Stealth-Body is a technology developed by Professor Sung-Nam Tak's team at Seoul National University that enhances the efficacy of antibody therapeutics and minimizes side effects by modifying the Fc region located at the bottom of the antibody to block interactions with immune cells. A primary reason for failure in antibody-based drug development is overactivation of immune cells mediated by Fc and the internalization of payloads (cytotoxic cancer drugs) into non-targeted immune cells. Overcoming these issues requires the Fc silencing platform.
■Korea GSK announced on the 17th that it held a press conference to celebrate the domestic launch of the long-acting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) injection therapy, Vocabria & Rekambys. The conference addressed the issue of limited treatment options in domestic HIV therapy and shared the clinical benefits of long-acting HIV injection drugs and the significance of their domestic launch. The Vocabria & Rekambys injection combination therapy was approved in February 2022 by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for the treatment of adults with HIV-1 infection who are virologically suppressed and have no history of treatment failure, and known or suspected resistance to cabotegravir or rilpivirine. In April, it was included in health insurance coverage, leading to active prescriptions in the domestic clinical field.
■Chong Kun Dang announced on the 17th that it held the ‘2025 Chong Kun Dang Golden Ticket’ event in collaboration with LabCentral, which is responsible for nurturing early-stage companies in Boston, USA. Founded in 2013, LabCentral provides shared research and office space for biotechnology companies so that early-stage companies with limited funding can focus solely on technology development. Chong Kun Dang joined the gold membership to support LabCentral resident companies through its U.S. subsidiary (CKD USA), established in Boston last year. As the first sponsorship event, it awarded a golden ticket to Indur Therapeutics, a company developing cell therapy.
■SillaJen announced on the 17th that it presented two studies on the cancer drug BAL0891 at the European Hematology Association (EHA 2025), held in Milan, Italy, from the 12th to the 15th (local time). The first study is a clinical trial overview (Trial in Progress) for BAL0891 approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). SillaJen is conducting a clinical trial evaluating the safety and tolerability of BAL0891 in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML), establishing the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D). The second study is a preclinical study of BAL0891 conducted by Seoul St. Mary's Hospital of the Catholic University of Korea. The research team evaluated the cytotoxicity of BAL0891 against AML cell lines and found that BAL0891 not only showed single-agent anticancer effects but also significantly increased cell apoptosis when combined with Venetoclax or Azacitidine.
■Huons Lab of Huons Group announced on the 17th that it participated in the ‘BIO International Convention 2025’ held in Boston, USA, on the 16th (local time) and presented its HyDIFFUZE platform. Hyaluronidase is a substance that temporarily breaks down hyaluronic acid (HA) present under the skin to enhance the diffusion effectiveness of drugs. Huons Lab is developing the HyDIFFUZE platform technology that utilizes hyaluronidase to convert antibody drugs from intravenous (IV) to subcutaneous (SC) injections. The HyDIFFUZE platform applies Huons Lab's patented recombinant human hyaluronidase manufacturing process. This manufacturing technology boasts strengths such as high purity and high inactivity (activity per mass) and improved production yield, enhancing the drug's diffusion effect within the human body.
■Vivozon Pharmaceutical announced on the 17th that it has secured significant results in the phase 3 clinical trial of its oral bowel cleansing improved new drug, Vivalax. In a clinical trial conducted on 240 subjects who took Vivalax for bowel cleansing prior to colonoscopy, it demonstrated non-inferiority against the active control drug, Ora-Prep, from Korea Pharm Bio, in the primary endpoint of the Harefield Cleaning Scale, confirming its bowel cleansing effectiveness. Vivalax is a product that enhances bowel cleansing efficacy by adding sodium picosulfate to the main component of existing products. Vivozon Pharmaceutical is currently proceeding with the patent registration process for a composition containing a combination of four ingredients: sodium picosulfate, potassium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, and simethicone. The single dose of Vivalax has been reduced from 14 pills to 10, improving convenience.
■Ildong BioScience, a health functional food business of Ildong Pharmaceutical Group, announced on the 17th that it participated in the ‘2025 Probiota Americas’ conference, which was held from the 9th to the 11th in Vancouver, Canada. This year’s Probiota Americas featured research results on three functional probiotics and postbiotics, including Lactobacillus rhamnosus IDCC 3201 (RH 3201), Bifidobacterium lactis IDCC 4301, and heat-treated culture dried material (BBR 4401).
■GC Biopharma announced on the 17th that its developed lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus plantarum GCWB1001, was published in the international journal ‘Scientific Reports’. This research was conducted through a human application test in collaboration with professors Kang Min-kyu from Chungbuk National University Hospital's Allergy Department and Choi Jeong-hee from Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital's Respiratory and Allergy Department. The test evaluated the efficacy and safety of Lactobacillus plantarum GCWB1001 in improving respiratory symptoms in healthy individuals who do not have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) but have mild similar symptoms. The results showed a significant improvement in dyspnea and sputum symptoms compared to the placebo group.
■WOOJUNG BIO announced on the 17th that it held an open innovation project event for the transition to a next-generation bio platform incorporating AI technology and signed multilateral agreements with participating corporations. The company will take on the facilitator role, leading open innovation beyond simple joint research as a contract research organization (CRO) and accelerator. With technologies from participating companies such as NeuroVivi (developing new drugs for brain diseases and initial AI screening of CNS compounds), NetTarget (in silico modeling), Elex Lab (alternative testing platforms for efficacy evaluation), and Madison Park (developing low molecular weight biopolymer materials for osteoarthritis treatment), the company plans to conduct rapid proof of concept (PoC) checks and quickly review commercialization possibilities through close cooperation with WOOJUNG BIO field departments.
■Daewoong Pharmaceutical's affiliate, SG Bio, announced on the 17th that treatment utilizing the automated cell therapy platform 'Cellunit' system for injecting stromal vascular fraction (SVF) derived from autologous fat into the joint cavity has been introduced at the Department of Orthopedics at Yonsei University Severance Hospital. The Cellunit system, which was approved as a new medical technology by the National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency, automatically extracts SVF derived from patients' subcutaneous fat tissue for therapeutic use. SVF consists of various cell aggregates within fatty tissues, including stem cells and immune cells involved in inflammation regulation and tissue regeneration. Initially, the Cellunit was primarily used in cosmetic procedures for tissue regeneration; however, it has recently expanded its application to various medical areas, including musculoskeletal diseases.
■The Jaseng Medical Foundation announced on the 17th that it conducted a grave cleaning volunteer activity at the National Cemetery of Seoul in Dongjak-gu, in celebration of the Month of Honor and Remembrance. On this day, 25 members of the Jaseng Medical Foundation staff and volunteers participated, starting with a moment of silence for the patriotic spirits, followed by environmental cleanup activities such as cleaning gravestones and collecting surrounding garbage and weeds. The foundation has been conducting grave cleaning activities at the National Cemetery every June since 2017 to honor the wishes of Shin Gwang-ryeol, an independence activist, who is the father of Dr. Shin Jun-sik, the founder of Jaseng Korean Medicine Hospital.
■Kangbuk Samsung Hospital of Sungkyunkwan University recently announced on the 17th that it has established an integrated medical big data platform called ‘S-CUBE’ (SMC Clinical Unified Big-data Engine) and opened a data collaboration space called ‘Data Open Lab’. The S-CUBE platform established by the hospital is a private cloud-based ‘integrated medical big data platform’ that can analyze the hospital's clinical information and health check-up center data. In particular, it is expected to load a large-scale health screening cohort database based on 300,000 annual examinees, enabling disease prediction model and AI development through long-term follow-up observations, as well as personalized health management. Furthermore, through the ‘Data Open Lab’ space created alongside S-CUBE, the collaboration system among the hospital’s medical and healthcare experts and external data-demanding agencies will be further strengthened.
■Hallym University Gangnam Sacred Heart Hospital announced on the 17th that it conducted '2025 first half patient safety fire drill.' This drill is aimed at enhancing response capabilities to disasters and emergencies such as fires, and protecting the lives and property of patients, guardians, and staff. The drill simulated a scenario where a fire broke out in the new surgical ward, and the hospital evacuated to an outdoor public space. The self-firefighting members were divided into notification contact teams, extinguishing teams, evacuation guidance teams, and emergency rescue teams to master initial suppression, reporting, internal alert broadcasting, first aid, patient transportation, and the usage of firefighting equipment and rescue teams.
■Samsung Medical Center announced on the 17th that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Singularity Biotech to establish a stem cell and organoid bank for hereditary retinal diseases. The two organizations plan to obtain peripheral blood samples from patients with hereditary retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and create gene-specific retinal organoids based on induced pluripotent stem cells. Previously, efficacy evaluation had to be conducted through animal models, which made it difficult to fully replicate the pathological characteristics of actual retinal cells. The two organizations expect that this agreement will accelerate precision medicine research and drug development for hereditary retinal diseases using induced pluripotent stem cells, while also expanding patient participation and showcasing public resource utilization models in the process. This agreement also includes the establishment of a banking system for developing induced pluripotent stem cells derived from patients and operating the induced pluripotent stem cell and organoid bank.