■ SK Biopharmaceuticals said on the 21st it has established a joint venture, "Mentis Care," with Latin American drugmaker Eurofarma to commercialize an artificial intelligence (AI)-based epilepsy management platform. Based on SK Biopharmaceuticals' EEG-analysis AI and Wearable Device technology, Mentis Care plans to develop a patient-tailored warning system centered on real-time seizure prediction technology and a data-driven clinical decision support platform. To enter the North American market, Mentis Care has set up a base at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto, Canada, an innovation hub. It appointed Hasan Kotob, former chief executive officer (CEO) of Brain Scientific, as its first head.
■ Dong-A ST said on the 21st it signed an expert-use sales contract for the continuous glucose monitor (CGM) "CareSens Air" with i-SENS at its headquarters in Yongdu-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. The agreement was signed to combine Dong-A ST's sales network for hospitals and medical institutions with i-SENS' glucose-measurement technology, aiming to provide more precise and efficient glucose management solutions in clinical settings. Under the agreement, i-SENS will supply the expert-use CareSens Air to Dong-A ST. Dong-A ST will distribute the expert-use CareSens Air to domestic hospitals and clinics and carry out sales and marketing activities.
■ HLB said on the 21st that using the combination therapy of rivoceranib and camrelizumab before and after liver cancer surgery resulted in more than doubling event-free survival compared with surgery alone. The clinical results were published in the medical journal "The Lancet." HLB noted, "This is the first clinical trial to demonstrate the efficacy of the rivoceranib–camrelizumab combination therapy in early to intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma patients eligible for surgery," adding, "This combination shows it can be expanded as a treatment strategy applicable across the entire course of liver cancer."
■ ABL Bio said on the 21st it will attend the 16th "World ADC San Diego" 2025, to be held Nov. 3–6 (local time) in San Diego, California, to present its development strategy for bispecific antibody ADCs. Following "World ADC Asia," the company also plans to give a presentation on bispecific antibody ADCs at this World ADC San Diego. By validating new target combinations for bispecific ADCs, it plans to explain the safety and efficacy of bispecific ADCs, improved over single-antibody ADCs, with two target combinations.
■ ST PHARM said on the 21st it gave an oral presentation of an interim analysis of its phase 2a clinical trial of the HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus type 1) therapy firmitagravir (STP0404) at "IDWeek 2025," held Oct. 19–22 in Atlanta, Georgia. Firmitagravir is the world's first HIV-1 therapy with the ALLINI mechanism to be in clinical trials in HIV-1–infected patients. In a clinical study of adults aged 18–65 infected with HIV-1, the company confirmed safety and tolerability as well as anti–HIV-1 activity.
■ Korea MSD held a press briefing on the 21st at the JW Marriott Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, to mark the domestic approval of its adult-only 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine "Capvaxive." Capvaxive received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in Aug. This adds eight unique serotypes to existing pneumococcal vaccines, expanding adult IPD protection in the United States to about 81%. Choi Jeong-hyeon, an infectious disease professor at Catholic University Eunpyeong St. Mary's Hospital, said, "Capvaxive will contribute to reducing hospitalizations and deaths among older adults as a prevention strategy focused on adult IPD amid Korea's rapid aging."
■ GC Wellbeing said on the 21st that "Longvida turmeric extract" has been approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety as an individually recognized functional ingredient that may help improve cognitive function. Longvida turmeric extract is a health functional food material that may help protect brain cells from damaging substances such as oxidative stress and tau protein hyperphosphorylation and help activate brain function. With this approval, the company now holds its fourth individually recognized functional ingredient for health functional foods, following honeysuckle flower bud extract, chrysanthemum zawadskii extract, and hair lactic acid bacteria.
■ Yuhan Corp. said on the 21st it will join the global campaign for "2025 World Gaucher Day," which began on the 1st of this month and runs for one month. The campaign highlights the importance of early recognition of initial symptoms of Gaucher disease and improving treatment access. Yuhan Corp. is developing the Gaucher disease treatment candidate "YH35995."
■ Pinotbio, a cancer drug developer based on an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform, said on the 21st it plans to present a poster on the preclinical results of its next-generation ADC drug candidate PBX-004 at the cancer therapeutics research and development conference jointly hosted by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), to be held Oct. 22–26 in Boston. PBX-004 is an ADC candidate targeting the ITGB6 protein. ITGB6 is characterized by overexpression on the surface of various solid tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer, and bladder cancer.
■ Dong-A Pharmaceutical Co. said on the 21st that FATION, its trouble care brand, has launched a cleanser, "Noscarnine Trouble Milk," for acne-prone and sensitive skin. Having earned trust among consumers with sensitive skin, FATION focused on the difficulties consumers face in choosing cleansing products. Cleansing oils can trigger breakouts, and cleansing tissues can irritate the skin. Water and milk-type products often fall short in cleansing power, and FATION developed a cleanser focused on addressing these issues.
■ Ildong Pharmaceutical Group said on the 21st it has built a corporate history promotion hall, "Dongnyeok Hall," which contains its 84-year history and future vision, and held an opening ceremony. "Dongnyeok Hall" is named after the east, the direction where the brilliant sun rises and a symbol of hope, and the meaning of Ildong (日東, the rising eastern sun), the corporate name of Ildong Pharmaceutical Group. The company said it aimed to bring together various historical materials containing Ildong Group's history and identity, recreate them as content, and provide a space that could be shared and resonated with by employees and external customers alike.
■ Inha University Hospital said on the 21st it has built an open laboratory on the first and eighth floors of the Jeongseok Building in Jung-gu, Incheon, and begun operating an innovation platform. The first-floor lab houses spaces for clinical data analysis and research on artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, while the eighth floor includes laboratories and offices equipped with more than 30 types of equipment. Currently, 20 corporations are participating in Inha University Hospital's open lab project and plan to continue collaborative research in fields such as AI-based medical services, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Built as an integrated infrastructure linking research, experimentation, and clinical practice, the lab will serve as a collaborative space to accelerate the clinical application and commercialization of medical technologies.
■ Geronmed, a Korea University faculty start-up, said on the 21st it will conduct a rights offering with priority allocation to existing shareholders in the first half of 2026 through a board resolution in the second half of 2025. The capital increase aims to raise funds for scale-up clinical research and development of five recombinant proteins based on the R2P2Ⓡ redox platform owned by Geronmed, for the design and expansion of an AI-based GMP manufacturing facility, and for building an advanced drug production infrastructure that meets Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) standards.