The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office, announced on the 8th that it provided customized treatment and social rehabilitation programs to 160 individuals through the judicial-treatment-rehabilitation linkage model, which helps recovery from drug addiction by connecting judicial, treatment, and rehabilitation services over the past year. The judicial-treatment-rehabilitation linkage model is a cross-ministerial cooperation system that assesses individual addiction levels, determines treatment referrals, and provides tailored social rehabilitation programs to prevent recidivism among probationers of drug offenses and facilitate their smooth reintegration into society. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety proposed an average of 2.7 customized social rehabilitation programs per person based on individual addiction levels, including treatment protection referrals (40 people), rehabilitation education (28 hours, 111 people), short-term education (8 hours, 41 people), psychological assessments (48), psychological counseling (10 sessions, 78 people), addiction counseling (5 sessions, 55 people), and group programs (motivation for sobriety, 12 steps, women, youth, etc. 70 people).
As the year-end and New Year approaches, warm donations for needy patients continue at Seoul National University Hospital. The hospital announced on the 8th that it received a donation of 114.5 million won along with donated items from composer and pianist Yiruma, BN Tech Co., and the fan cafe of singer Kim Yong-pil for low-income patients. Yiruma donated 100 million won to support low-income patients for the year-end. BN Tech, which manufactures the microbial food waste processor 'Linkle', contributed 10 million won and five food processors. The fan cafe 'Yongfeel Harmony' of singer Kim Yong-pil donated 4.5 million won to the Seoul National University Children's Hospital to commemorate its second anniversary. A hospital official noted, 'We will do our best to assist patients facing financial hardships with their medical costs.'
Samsung Medical Center announced on the 8th that its Heart and Lung Vascular Hospital Pulmonary Hypertension Center has achieved 500 cases of pulmonary artery intervention procedures, making it the first in South Korea to reach this milestone. Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension refers to a condition in which blood clots accumulate in the pulmonary blood vessels over a long period, becoming hardened to the extent that they can no longer be dissolved by medication, resulting in elevated pulmonary artery pressure. If left untreated, it can cause right ventricular failure and may lead to the patient's death. Pulmonary artery intervention is a procedure where a slender catheter is inserted through a vein in the leg to widen narrowed pulmonary blood vessels using a vascular balloon. It does not require general anesthesia and can access small vessels that are difficult to approach surgically. Jang Seong-a, head of the Pulmonary Hypertension Center and professor of cardiology, said, 'We will continue to advance the technology of pulmonary artery interventions to provide treatment opportunities to more patients.'
Kim Chang-geun, a professor at the Allergy and Asthma Center of Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital, has been elected as a board member of the Asia-Pacific Association of Allergy, Asthma, and Clinical Immunology (APAAACI). Professor Kim attended the APAAACI 2024 Congress international academic conference, held from December 12 to 15 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as a speaker and chair, and was elected to the board on the 14th after passing the executive committee review. His term will last for two years, from 2025 to 2026.
Y-Biologics, an antibody drug development platform company, and the biotechnology venture IMBiologics announced on the 8th that they have signed a contract for joint research and development of new target antibody drug candidates for autoimmune diseases. Previously, the two companies achieved technology transfer of their jointly developed new drugs 'IMB-101' and 'IMB-102' for the treatment of autoimmune diseases to Navigator Medicine in the U.S. and Huadong Pharmaceutical in China. The two companies plan to accelerate their entry into the global market through this joint research based on their past collaboration experience. The core of this research is to develop innovative antibody drug candidates that inhibit proteins recognized as key factors in autoimmune diseases.
Pantomics, a medical imaging AI company, has signed a radiological consulting contract with a research team led by Professor Yang Dong-hyun at Seoul Asan Medical Center's Heart Hospital to present a new paradigm for cardiac MRI imaging and analysis technology. The core objective of this consulting agreement is to shorten the cardiac MRI imaging time from over 50 minutes to less than 30 minutes, thus popularizing cardiac MRI and significantly improving early diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. Through this agreement, the two institutions plan to jointly develop cardiac MRI protocols.
Medytox Aesthetics Korea has launched a medical device called 'Belotero Revive Skin Booster', which is injected into the dermis of the skin. This device, which contains glycerol and hyaluronic acid, has received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The unique dynamic cross-linking technology (DCLT) applied to the multi-density matrix hyaluronic acid (20 mg/mL) adheres uniformly to the skin tissue, resulting in a natural treatment effect. Additionally, glycerol (17.5 mg/mL), a natural moisturizing factor, helps retain water molecules attracted by hyaluronic acid.
Dongkook Pharmaceutical has launched its health food direct store 'Dongkook Pharmaceutical Health Mall' and is conducting a promotional event. From the 8th to the 10th, customers who added Dongkook Pharmaceutical Health Mall's KakaoTalk channel can participate in the 'super bargain deal', purchasing major bestsellers from MyFit, such as organic lemon juice, all-in-one vitamins, kamut enzyme, and hangover remedy EziSmart at inexpensive prices. Additionally, a 'grand open monthly spectacular deal' will be held, offering up to 95% off all items for members, along with a roulette event that provides discount coupons of up to 50%.
Dong-A Pharmaceutical has launched 'Vitagran Organic Lemon Juice', which is freshly squeezed within 24 hours of harvesting organic lemons using the NFC (Not From Concentrate) method. This 100% lemon juice product is packaged in individually wrapped stick pouches for easy carrying and storage. It is available for purchase on Dmall, Dong-A Pharmaceutical's official brand mall, and the official brand store on Naver, where it can be bought at up to a 51% discount to celebrate its launch.