■Samsung Biologics announced on the 20th that it has been awarded at the 'CDMO Leadership Awards' for 12 consecutive years, the first domestic corporation to achieve this. The CDMO Leadership Awards is a global event co-hosted by Outsourced Pharma, a research organization in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, and Life Science Connect, a journal specializing in the life sciences. Companies that actually collaborated with the winning corporations participate in the evaluation, making it an award that best reflects the industry's voice. Samsung Biologics won this year in the 'Biologics - Global' category, receiving high praise for its overwhelming production capacity and innovative technology.
■Noul announced on the 20th that it has signed a contract to supply its 'miLab' products through an agency that grants exclusive sales rights in six Central American countries. The countries involved are Panama, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, with a contract amount based on the minimum purchase quantity of approximately 2 billion won. Under this contract, Noul will supply at least 90 units of 'miLab' over the next two years in these six countries. The company explained that the pre-contract was signed in response to high market demand, especially for 'miLab CER,' a cervical cancer diagnostic solution that is not yet officially launched.
■SK bioscience announced on the 20th that Lim Cheol-ho, head of the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) infrastructure division, received the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award at the '52nd Commerce Day' ceremony. Commerce Day is an event organized by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry to promote domestic industrial development and boost the morale of the commerce industry. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy awards praises to corporations and individuals who contribute to national economic growth and development. Lim was recognized for his contributions to equipment, process, and document system development during the construction of the Andong L-House. He also led the management of facilities to obtain approval for the world's first cell culture influenza vaccine, 'Skycellflu,' enhancing the status of the domestic vaccine industry.
■Seegene announced on the 20th that it held a symposium on 'Improving the reliability of HPV screening tests' at the '2025 Eurogin Conference on Genital Infections and Oncology' held in Portugal from the 16th to the 19th (local time). Eurogin is an international conference that began in Europe in 1993 focusing on HPV infectious diseases and cancers. Seegene showcased its representative HPV diagnostic product line, including 'Allplex HPV HR Detection' and 'Anyplex™ II HPV HR Detection,' which can simultaneously screen individual genotypes falling into major risk groups for cervical cancer screening, as well as 'Allplex™ HPV28 Detection,' which detects 28 individual genotypes. Notably, it examines all genotypes of high-risk HPV that cause cervical cancer, as well as other genotypes that induce benign tumors.
■ENCell announced on the 20th that it presented the results of the non-clinical study of its sarcopenia drug candidate EN001 at the '2025 International Sarcopenia Conference' held in Toulouse, France. ENCell demonstrated that intravenous administration of EN001 in naturally aged mice over 20 months confirmed effects such as muscle regeneration, aging suppression, and muscle strength enhancement. It was confirmed that the therapeutic effect of increasing muscle mass and strength was greater with repeated administration compared to a single administration of EN001. EN001 is being developed with the aim of being a first-in-class innovative drug without any commercialized medicines having the same principle. In June of last year, it received approval for clinical phases 1 and 2 from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
■HANALL BIOPHARMA announced on the 20th that it has proven the efficacy of batoclimab in a Phase 3 clinical trial for myasthenia gravis and a Phase 2b clinical trial for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, conducted in partnership with its U.S. partner Immunovant in 16 countries involving 240 participants. According to the company, the results of the Phase 3 clinical trial for batoclimab in myasthenia gravis showed significant symptom improvement compared to the placebo group in patients receiving a high dose of batoclimab among the major evaluation criteria. In particular, the high-dose group demonstrated a high average antibody reduction rate of 74%. The safety profile was consistent with previous studies, the company noted.
■ABL Bio announced on the 19th that it has submitted the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for its bispecific antibody candidate ABL103 to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The clinical trial will involve 40 patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors in South Korea, the U.S., and Australia. The combination with Merck's immuno-oncology drug Keytruda will be used to evaluate the safety and tolerability of the drug. In October of last year, ABL Bio entered into a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with MSD to evaluate the combination therapy of ABL103 and Keytruda. Keytruda will be provided free of charge by MSD for this clinical trial.
■Matika Bio Labs, a subsidiary of CHA Biotech, announced on the 20th that it has been selected as an execution organization for the '2025 CMC Strategy Consulting' support project led by the National New Drug Development Agency. Matika Bio Labs is set to provide consulting on manufacturing process optimization, formulation development, and the establishment of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) systems linked to contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) to pharmaceutical and biotech corporations developing cell and gene therapies.
■SIGI Bio, a subsidiary of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, announced on the 20th that it has obtained export approval for its biostimulator product 'QB_PLA.' With this approval, it plans to expand its presence in key markets including Japan, Chile, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in the skin booster market. QB_PLA promotes collagen production in the skin and is effective in naturally creating volume and improving skin elasticity when injected. The product is composed of polylactic acid (PLA) and hyaluronic acid (HA).
■Ildong Pharmaceutical announced on the 20th that it will launch the scar management brand 'Dermatics' and the nail fungus treatment 'Full Care' through a new partnership with Menarini in Korea. The partnership encompasses a total of six items, including Dermatics Ultra Gel, Dermatics Ultra Kids, Dermatics Scarplus Stick, and Full Care Nail Lacquer. Under the partnership agreement, Ildong Pharmaceutical has secured the exclusive distribution and sales rights for Menarini's 'Dermatics®' and 'Full Care®' in Korea and plans to supply these items to pharmacies and other channels starting next month.
■Korea University Guro Hospital announced on the 20th that it has been reselected for the 'Open Laboratory Project' led by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. The Open Laboratory Project aims to promote joint research between hospitals and start-up corporations and support the development of new technologies and products in the healthcare field. Over the past six years, Korea University Guro Hospital has carried out projects with 29 supported corporations through this initiative, establishing infrastructure for medical commercialization. During this period, the number of support cases reached 105, with total investments amounting to 47.3 billion won. This re-selection extends the project period through 2026, and Korea University Guro Hospital plans to expand its tailored research and development consulting, technology transfer, and commercialization support.
■Hanmi Pharmaceutical announced on the 20th that Professor Cha Yoon-jin of the Department of Pathology at Yonsei University's Gangnam Severance Hospital has been selected as the recipient of the '7th Young Medical Researcher Award,' co-established by the Korean Women's Medical Association. The Young Medical Researcher Award was established in 2019 to inspire research motivation among young female doctors and enhance the global competitiveness of academic research, recognizing outstanding research achievements among members of the Korean Women's Medical Association under the age of 45. Professor Cha was recognized for her contributions in elucidating the correlation between Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) and tumor grade in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.
■Yuhan Corporation announced on the 20th that it has launched a comprehensive nutritional supplement for women, 'Sense Balance Plus.' Sense Balance Plus contains 16 nutrients, adding iron, pantothenic acid, vitamin E, and chromium to the 12 functional ingredients of the existing product, Sense Balance. It assists women's health management in areas such as energy production, metabolism promotion, antioxidant activity, and blood sugar balance. The tablet size has been reduced compared to the previous product, easing the burden of consumption.
■Medytox Korea announced on the 20th that it has been selected as a 'Global Sustainable Brand 50' in the '2025 Global Sustainable Leaders, Corporations, and Brands 100 List' published by the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) Association. The company’s representative, Yoo Soo-yeon, was also selected as a 'Global Sustainable Innovation Company Leader,' making her the first in the industry. The UN SDGs Association, established in 2011, is an international non-governmental organization that selects the most sustainable leaders, institutions, and brands globally in both private and public sectors each year and publishes the 'Global Sustainable Leaders, Corporations, and Brands 100'.