The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 31st that it has approved the rare drug "Voxzogo" for the treatment of achondroplasia in children older than 4 months with open growth plates. Achondroplasia is a genetic disorder related to bone growth, caused by mutations in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR-3) gene that regulates cartilage cell proliferation and differentiation. This drug inhibits the excessively differentiated FGFR-3 signaling in pediatric achondroplasia patients, promoting bone formation within cartilage. Previously, there were no treatment options for pediatric achondroplasia patients, but this new drug approval now provides an opportunity for new treatment for these patients.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 31st that the amendments to the Medical Device Act and the Cosmetics Act have passed in the National Assembly. The amendment to the Medical Device Act allows for the comprehensive analysis and evaluation of information from medical institutions about human implant medical devices with significant concerns about side effects, such as artificial breasts, including initial procedure information, patient information, and post-implantation side effects. The Ministry expects to quickly address significant side effects before they occur by early identifying adverse cases related to human implant medical devices.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 31st that it has designated 16 medical institutions as specialized hospitals for the second year (2025-2027) of the fifth term. The specialized hospital designation system was introduced in 2011 to foster small and medium-sized hospitals with expertise and capabilities in specific diseases or medical fields, alleviating the concentration of patients in large hospitals and providing quality medical services to patients. Once designated as a specialized hospital, this status is recognized for three years, and from the fourth term (2021), opportunities for designation are guaranteed, allowing any institution meeting the criteria to participate each year. The number of specialized hospitals will increase from 109 in 2024 to 115 in 2025. Institutions designated as specialized hospitals can use the title designated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and advertise using the terms "specialized hospital" and "specialized," and they will receive health insurance reimbursements based on the results of medical quality evaluations.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced on the 31st that it will expand the target of infectious disease big data disclosure to the private sector. This year, the agency began to open data from its infectious disease big data platform, utilizing the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s "Drug Supply Risk Prediction Model Development," the National Cancer Center's "K-CURE," and the Gangwon Province Infectious Disease Management Support Group's "Analysis of Treatment Gaps for COVID-19 Patients." The infectious disease big data platform, which opened in June, has been supporting the agency and local governments’ quarantine efforts through automatic statistical calculations and customized analyses. This time, it will disclose a total of 64 infectious diseases under comprehensive surveillance among key data collected through the integrated quarantine information system. Research teams will review research proposals and data usage requests submitted on the infectious disease website (dportal.kdca.go.kr) and plan to provide anonymized data for 17 Class 1 infectious diseases, 20 Class 2 diseases, and 27 Class 3 diseases, excluding tuberculosis and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital announced on the 31st that Professor Hong Eun-kyung of the Department of Endocrinology will assume the presidency of the Korean Endocrine Society as its 35th president. Professor Hong's term will last for two years until Dec. 31, 2026. Since its establishment in 1982, the Korean Endocrine Society has engaged in research and academic activities regarding endocrine hormones and diseases for more than 40 years. Professor Hong has held positions such as director of the Endocrinology Diabetes Thyroid Center at Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, section chief of the Department of Endocrinology, and department head of Internal Medicine. Currently, she serves as vice president of the Korean Diabetes Association and the Korean Society of Internal Medicine.
Seoul National University Hospital announced on the 31st that Professor Kim Jung-soo of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine has received the 2024 World Pain Society Congress (WSPC) Commemorative Academic Award at an international academic conference co-hosted by the Korean Pain Society (KPS), the International Spine Pain Society (ISPS), and the World Pain Society (WSPC). The WSPC Commemorative Academic Award is presented to outstanding papers published in domestic and international journals in the field of pain medicine that have made significant contributions to the advancement of this field over the past year. Professor Kim received this award for his research on the thoracic sympathetic nerve block technique for patients with chronic upper limb pain (arm and shoulder) in July. It is a neurolysis technique for chronic upper limb pain patients suffering from neuropathic pain, including postherpetic neuralgia.
Hallym University Medical Center announced on the 31st that it has received the Minister of Science and ICT Award at the 2024 Korea Data Quality Awards. Hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and organized by the Korea Data Agency, the Korea Data Quality Awards evaluates and awards data management levels, data quality excellence, and business competitiveness through data utilization. The award this time was highly regarded for the data lake cloud platform "HERO" and the "K-CURE databases" established by Hallym University Medical Center, which achieved the highest accreditation ratings in both the content (Complex-Type Class A) and management system (Level 4) categories.
Yonsei University Yongin Severance Hospital announced on the 31st that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Siloam Hospital in Indonesia for collaboration on smart hospital consulting and clinical exchange programs. This agreement is the first domestic case that provides digital innovation and digital transformation training programs for overseas medical institutions. While existing international agreements have focused on hospital construction, electronic medical record (EMR) establishment, and exchanges of medical personnel and patients, this agreement is characterized by facilitating exchanges specialized in digital innovation based on a "Korean-style smart hospital leading model." Yongin Severance Hospital plans to advance sharing experiences and operational know-how in establishing Korean-style digital innovation hospitals, sharing step-by-step leading models of digital transformation, developing clinical and research cooperation programs, and exchanging training and education programs for medical personnel in collaboration with Siloam Hospital.