■Molecular diagnostics specialist Seegene announced on the 8th that its operating profit for the second quarter, based on consolidated financial statements, was 3.1 billion won, a turnaround from a loss in the same period last year. The company has recorded consecutive operating profit for the second quarter after achieving a profit in the first quarter. Second quarter sales increased by 13.9% compared to the same period last year, reaching 114.1 billion won, surpassing 100 billion won for five consecutive quarters.
■Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group announced on the 8th that it has been conducting its second half blood donation campaign at its business sites in Paltan, Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, and its headquarters in Seoul since the 24th of last month. More than 100 employees, including Vice Chairman Lim Joo-hyun, participated, and it stated that it donated over 4,000 blood donation certificates to patient groups by the first half of this year. This campaign was initiated in 1980 when the founder of Hanmi Group, Chairman Lim Sung-ki, participated in the opening of the 'House of Blood Donation' set up at Seoul City Hall Station, and it has continued twice a year as a regular campaign.
■PharmaResearch announced on the 8th that it has launched a 'Pharmacy Finder' service that allows users to check the distribution pharmacy information for its pharmacy-exclusive health supplement 'Joint Care Connect Plus' in real-time. The Pharmacy Finder service is provided through the 'Joint Care Connect Plus' website and is designed to help consumers easily find nearby pharmacies selling the product. Currently, more than 500 pharmacies have registered, and the company plans to continuously increase the number of participating pharmacies to expand the service. This product is an individually recognized health supplement containing complex ingredients beneficial for joint function, including salmon oligopeptide (DOT salmon nucleic acid), vitamin D, and manganese.
■Dong-A ST subsidiary Dong-A Chammed announced on the 8th that it has signed an equity investment and domestic exclusive sales contract with infectious disease diagnosis specialized company HUFIT. Through this contract, Dong-A Chammed secured domestic exclusive sales rights for blood culture systems 'HubCentra FA' and 'HubCentra A', as well as preferential negotiation rights for the domestic and international exclusive sales of the tuberculosis culture system and molecular diagnostic system to be launched in the future. Dong-A Chammed plans to accelerate its entry into the microbial diagnosis and molecular diagnosis market through a strategic partnership with HUFIT and collaborate in future joint technology development.
■Bridge Biotherapeutics announced on the 8th that it has completed the procedures for changing its controlling shareholder to the affiliate of Parataxis Holdings at the extraordinary shareholders' meeting held on the 7th. The company plans to change its name to 'Parataxis Korea' and actively pursue expansion as a KOSDAQ-listed Bitcoin Treasuries platform corporation. The major changes confirmed at this extraordinary shareholders' meeting include the name change to Parataxis Korea, the appointment of Andrew Kim as the new CEO, and the launch of a new board of directors. Former Bridge Biotherapeutics CEO Lee Jeong-kyu will join as an internal director of Parataxis Korea.
■Curocell announced on the 8th that it has submitted a clinical trial plan (IND) change application to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for the phase 2 clinical trial of its CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell) therapy 'Anvaxel' targeting adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The company applied for this IND change to reflect the results of phase 1 in the phase 2 design. The company noted, "In phase 1, we assessed the safety and early efficacy of Anvaxel and derived the optimal dose for phase 2 start," adding that it plans to disclose specific phase 1 data at a conference later this year.