■Dongkuk Life Science, a corporation specializing in contrast agents, announced on the 16th that it submitted a securities registration statement to the Financial Services Commission. Dongkuk Life Science plans to offer 2 million shares through this listing. The proposed public offering price per share is set between 12,600 won and 14,300 won, with a total expected offering amount of approximately 25.2 billion to 28.6 billion won. The company aims for listing in January 2025 and will conduct demand forecasting from January 6-10, followed by general subscriptions on January 14-15. NH Investment & Securities and KB Securities will serve as the underwriters. Established in May 2017, Dongkuk Life Science currently holds the number one market share in the domestic contrast agent market.
■Yoon Sang-bae, the representative of Huons, received a presidential citation at the 10th Day of Mid-Sized Enterprises ceremony on the 16th. This event is co-hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Federation of Middle Market Enterprises to publicize the achievements of mid-sized enterprises and boost morale among corporations. The citation was awarded to mid-sized and small corporations that set an example for others through management, technological innovation, and job creation.
■BridgeBio announced on the 16th that it has been officially invited to present at the 43rd JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, which will be held in San Francisco, California, from the 13th to 16th of next month. CEO Lee Jung-kyu plans to present the candidate drug 'BBT-877' for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, among other key research and development projects, to global pharmaceutical and biotech stakeholders and investors. The company will also discuss potential technology transfer agreements with several global pharmaceutical giants. To date, the company has signed confidentiality agreements with over half of the top 10 global pharmaceuticals and is in discussions regarding the progress and future plans for BBT-877 clinical development.
■Pharmaresearch, a specialized corporation in regenerative medicine, announced on the 16th that it won the '50 million dollar export tower' at the 8th Gangwon Exporter's Day event. Pharmaresearch's Rejuvapen is a patented medical device for facial wrinkle improvement, currently sold in over 20 countries. A company official stated, 'The 50 million dollar export tower is a result that demonstrates the global market competitiveness of Pharmaresearch and Rejuvapen once again.'
■Samsung Medical Center performed Asia's first surgery using the latest robotic surgical device 'Da Vinci 5' on the 16th. On that day, Jeon Seong-su, the director of the robotic surgery center and a urology professor, successfully completed the first surgery on a prostate cancer patient. Currently, Samsung Medical Center operates a total of nine Da Vinci surgical systems, including the newly introduced Da Vinci 5. The Da Vinci 5 was approved by Intuitive Surgical, the manufacturer, in March as authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and was subsequently approved by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety last October.
■HLB Group signed a mutual cooperation agreement with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) on the 16th at its main office in Daejeon for drug development in challenging diseases such as cancer and Parkinson's disease. Jin Yang-gon, chairman of HLB Group, said, 'We will help grow HLB Neurotub into a successful campus startup model and revitalize KAIST's entrepreneurial ecosystem, facilitating active open industrial-academic investments in innovative technologies.' KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung noted, 'We will actively cooperate in the development of innovative new drugs in the bio-medical field, including treatments for cancer and degenerative brain diseases.'
■Busan Paik Hospital reported on the 16th that Professor Kim Young-nam from the department of obstetrics and gynecology has recently been recognized as a distinguished contributor for supporting high-risk mothers and newborns and received a commendation from the Minister of Health and Welfare. Professor Kim has been involved in over 4,000 deliveries and treatments for high-risk mothers and newborns since Busan Paik Hospital was designated as a regional integrated treatment center for high-risk mothers and newborns in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongsangnam-do in 2016. Through this, he has led efforts to reduce morbidity and mortality rates, protecting the lives and health of mothers and newborns in the region.
■Chae Health Care's Chaim Hospital in Hollywood, Los Angeles, was named the best hospital in the Maternity Care institutional sector by U.S. News & World Report. More than 3,000 newborns are born there each year.
■Kwangdong Pharmaceutical conducted a happy sharing service with Bobasang Community Coal Bank. About 40 employees and their families delivered 3,000 coal briquettes to over 20 households in energy-vulnerable areas around Gwacheon City Race Park.
■Handok reported that it held a sharing performance by guardians of human cultural assets in the Innovation Hall of the Handok Future Complex in Magok, Seoul, on the 13th. This event is part of Handok's activities for the guardianship of human cultural assets, which has been ongoing since 2009. This year, to raise awareness of the value of pansori and Korean traditional music, they organized a special sharing performance featuring Kim Soo-yeon, a master of pansori (Su-gung-ga), the 5th intangible cultural heritage, along with the Rockum Korean Traditional Music Group, Korea's first private gugak troupe.
■Hanmi Pharmaceutical announced on the 16th that it has received integrated certification for its anti-corruption management system (ISO 37001) and compliance management system (ISO 37301) from the Korea Compliance Promotion Institute (KCI). ISO 37001 and ISO 37301 are international standard certifications established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for anti-corruption and compliance.