■GC Labs said on the 28th that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Inpeco to introduce "pathology laboratory automation equipment." Through this agreement, the two sides will pursue the introduction and optimization of automation solutions across the entire pathology testing process. In particular, they aim to achieve automation and traceability throughout the full workflow from slide preparation and staining to storage, and they plan to review linking with an artificial intelligence (AI)-based pathology image reading system in the future. The company plans to use this agreement as a turning point to dramatically improve the efficiency and reproducibility of pathology diagnoses by introducing Korea's first automated system for pathology slide manufacturing.
■Noel said on the 28th that it will supply its AI-based malaria diagnostic solution miLab™ MAL to Charité in Berlin, Germany. Charité is the No. 1 hospital in Germany with more than 300 years of history and ranks No. 7 worldwide. It operates four campuses across Berlin, with more than 3,500 beds and more than 4,000 medical and research staff. Noel has been conducting evaluations of miLab with Charité since early this year. With the introduction of miLab, specimen preparation and reading times were shortened, while the expense per diagnostic test was reduced, earning praise for improved convenience.
■GencLab, a molecular diagnostics solutions subsidiary of GC Holdings, said on the 28th that it signed an exclusive domestic distributorship agreement with Inpeco, a Swiss laboratory automation company. Through this agreement, GencLab secured domestic supply and technical support rights for Inpeco's advanced fully automated testing systems, the ProTube™ and FlexLab™ solutions. Since June 28, GencLab has already built and has been stably operating the largest TLA system in Asia from Inpeco at GC Labs.
■Inventage Lab said on the 28th that it unveiled its new platform IVL-BioFluidic™ on the global stage for the first time at Partnership Opportunities in Drug Delivery (PODD) 2025, held in Boston on Oct. 27-28 local time. PODD is a specialized conference on drug delivery systems (DDS) attended by executives and experts from global pharmaceutical companies. At the event, the company gave a presentation on "Development and application of a drug delivery system platform using microfluidic technology," and officially introduced its new platform technology, IVL-BioFluidic™, to the global pharmaceutical industry.
■Pharos iBio said on the 28th that it will attend Bio-Europe 2025, Europe's largest pharmaceutical and biotech event, to be held in Vienna, Austria, on Nov. 3-5 local time. At the event, Pharos iBio plans not only to deepen technology transfer discussions for PHI-101, a next-generation acute myeloid leukemia (AML) therapy that successfully completed a global phase 1 trial, and PHI-501, a refractory solid tumor therapy about to enter phase 1, but also to pursue various business opportunities.
■HK inno.N said on the 28th that bewants, its slow-aging skincare brand, will enter the Southeast Asian market with its Seaweed PDRN Glow Peel-Off Jelly Mask. After proving the product's strength in Korea by winning placement at Olive Young stores just three months after launch, bewants has confirmed entry into key distribution channels in Thailand and Malaysia centered on Singapore, expanding its core foothold in Southeast Asia. Recently, bewants newly launched the Seaweed PDRN Glow Peel-Off Jelly Mask on TikTok Shop, one of Singapore's online channels, and conducted live commerce to showcase its strong product performance to local consumers.
■Shaperon said on the 28th that it signed an MOU with Zhejiang Jiuzhou Pharmaceutical, a Chinese producer and distributor of new drug and cosmetic ingredients, to cooperate on production and distribution of its cosmetic ingredient RumiLua in China. Based on this agreement, the two sides plan to sequentially pursue specific cooperation tasks, including establishing a stable production and supply chain for RumiLua, joint marketing in the Korean and Chinese markets, process optimization and quality enhancement, and strengthening cost competitiveness.
■Loen Surgical, a surgical robot platform company, said on the 28th that clinical trials for innovative medical technology are progressing smoothly for Zamenix, the world's first AI-based kidney stone surgery robot developed by the company. Zamenix, the world's first AI-based kidney stone surgery robot, is a device in which an ultra-miniature endoscope passes through the ureter without incision to remove stones. Equipped with AI-based respiratory compensation, stone size determination, and path regeneration functions, it safely fragments stones in the body and expels them outside the body. Zamenix was designated as the 17th innovative medical device in 2021.
■Hanmi Pharmaceutical said on the 28th that it will participate in CPHI (Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients) Worldwide 2025, a pharmaceutical and biotech exhibition to be held in Frankfurt, Germany, on Oct. 28-30 local time. At the event, the company will open a solo booth to showcase its blockbuster in-house developed products, including Rosuzet, Amosartan and Esomezol, which embody its drug manufacturing capabilities and excellent formulation technology. It also plans to present more than 30 innovative drug pipelines in obesity metabolism, oncology and rare diseases that are gaining global traction.
■Ildong Pharmaceutical Group said on the 28th that it will attend business events in the pharmaceutical and biotech field, including CPHI and Bio-Europe, to pursue partnering for padoprazan, a P-CAB (potassium-competitive acid blocker) new drug candidate co-developed with Daewon Pharmaceutical. Padoprazan is a treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease that suppresses gastric acid secretion by acting on the proton pump (H+/K+-ATPase) of parietal cells and disrupting the exchange of potassium ions (K+) and hydrogen ions (H+). The company's research and development affiliate, Unovia, discovered the compound and, after completing a phase 1 trial, transferred the technology to Daewon Pharmaceutical, and a phase 3 trial is currently underway in Korea.
■Aptis, a subsidiary of Dong-A ST, said on the 28th that it will attend World ADC 2025, to be held in San Diego on Nov. 3-6 local time, to promote AbClick®. World ADC is regarded as the premier event in the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) field. Aptis will introduce the differentiated technology of its third-generation ADC linker technology AbClick® to attendees through an oral presentation. AbClick® can selectively conjugate drugs at specific sites on the antibody Fc domain, does not require production of mutant antibodies, and enables a uniform drug-to-antibody ratio (DAR).
■Vivozon Pharmaceutical said on the 28th that Chair Lee Doo-hyun will present the development process of VVZ-149 (Unafra®) at the 48th workshop of the Korean Nonclinical Research Society, to be held on Oct. 30-31 at the International Convention Center Jeju. On the last session of the second day, Lee will give a presentation titled "VVZ-149 (Unafra®): From discovery to NDA approval." The plan is to share development strategies and achievements from the nonclinical research stage to the new drug application (NDA).
■Yuhan Corp. said on the 28th that SENSE BALANCE, its women's health functional food brand, has launched Collagen Stick, a new product for skin health. As part of the brand's expansion into women's skin health, the new product improves the fishy taste and intake inconvenience common to existing collagen products, combining both taste and convenience. SENSE BALANCE Collagen Stick contains individually approved low-molecular Collagen Peptide GT to enhance absorption in the body, and with dual functionality for skin health, it supports both skin moisturization and care for skin damage caused by ultraviolet rays.
■Dongkook Pharmaceutical said on the 28th that it has launched two new products in the Madeca Matcha Cleansing line of its dermacosmetic brand Centellian24. The new products are Madeca Matcha Pore Cleansing Oil and Madeca Matcha Toning Peeling Gel. Both products feature Matcha-TECA, which combines Jeju matcha fermented twice using a traditional Korean fermentation technique with Dongkook Pharmaceutical's key ingredient TECA (titrated extract of Centella asiatica).
■SK Chemicals said on the 28th that it conducted a volunteer activity to assemble emergency relief kits as the second program of VALUE Day 2025 at its headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province. Emergency relief kits are sets of essential survival and health support items delivered to affected areas in urgent disaster situations caused by climate crises such as wildfires and heavy rains. On the day, about 30 SK Chemicals members personally packed 450 relief kits consisting of 21 types of items, including hygiene, daily living and first-aid safety supplies. The completed kits will be delivered to sites within three days of a disaster through the nonprofit NGO G Foundation.
■Global healthcare company InBody said on the 28th that it is recruiting participants ahead of the seminar "Building your own differentiated counseling pharmacy," to be held on Sunday, Nov. 16, at InBody headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The seminar was prepared to share ways to support in-pharmacy health counseling services more systematically through InBody data by leveraging InBody. The event will consist of Part 1, "InBody as a health checker," and Part 2, "InBody in real pharmacies."
■HLB said on the 28th that it was selected as an excellent company at the Child-Friendly Company Awards and received a commendation from the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. The awards were prepared to identify companies that actively support solving the low birthrate problem and work-family balance. HLB received high marks in the in-depth evaluation category of "flexible and cooperative family support." To spread a family-friendly corporate culture, HLB has established and operates an ESG Management Team and a People Team at the group level.