■D&D Pharmatech said on the 6th that in a 28-day efficacy assessment in preclinical testing of its oral obesity drug candidate "MET-GGo," it observed a 29.1% reduction in body weight. This is superior to Eli Lilly's Mounjaro (17.7%). The company presented these preclinical findings in a poster at Obesity Week 2025. MET-GGo is a dual agonist that acts on gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP) along with GLP-1. Applying the oral peptide technology platform "ORALINK," it showed the longest human half-life (more than 15 days) among GLP-1 class peptides reported to date. In an oral absorption assessment in beagle dogs, it also achieved more than 10 times higher blood drug exposure at the same dose compared to oral Wegovy.
■GC Biopharma said on the 6th that it has begun developing a "predictive model for arthropathy in hemophilia patients" in partnership with the Korea Hemophilia Foundation and the College of Pharmacy at Seoul National University. This is the first time a Korean company has developed an arthropathy prediction program aimed at improving the quality of life of people with hemophilia. Joint bleeding in hemophilia patients can be greatly reduced through prophylaxis. Starting before age 3 is particularly likely to preserve normal joint function. The company plans to apply AI Machine Learning techniques to real-world big data accumulated over about 20 years from Korean hemophilia patients to develop a model that predicts joint damage. This model will incorporate real-world data from patients using hemophilia treatments such as "GreenMono" and "GreenGene F," enabling clinicians to establish optimal treatment strategies for each patient.
■Korea Roche said on the 6th that it conducted a "leadership coaching program" for the first leadership team of the Korea chapter (Nucleate Korea) of Nucleate, a student-led global nonprofit community. The program was organized as an official follow-up activity to a memorandum of understanding signed in May for "mutual cooperation to foster innovation and talent in Korea's biohealth industry," with the goal of nurturing next-generation healthcare leaders who will drive innovation in the domestic biohealth ecosystem. From July over roughly four months, Korea Roche provided six sessions of customized coaching to support the growth and capability building of the Nucleate Korea leadership team.
■Kyongbo Pharmaceutical said on the 6th that it was selected as an executing institution for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's project to develop "AI-based target-tailored linker–drug conjugate autonomous lab manufacturing technologies." The project aims to raise biopharmaceutical productivity by automating drug design and manufacturing processes through a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, and to establish a domestic foundation for developing next-generation antibody–drug conjugates (ADC). Working with the Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM), Korea University and others, the company will carry out the research through Dec. 2029 and, with 2.4 billion won in research and development support out of a total 19.2 billion won in project development funding, will build an autonomous laboratory and automated drug manufacturing system that integrates AI and robotics.
■Curocell said on the 6th that it completed the buildout of a LIMS (laboratory information management system) operated in a GMP environment for drug manufacturing and finished integration with an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system, strengthening both data reliability and operational efficiency. With this, the company proactively completed a digital GMP quality system to enable fast and stable shipments at the commercialization stage. The new setup allows the entire process—from receiving CAR-T manufacturing requests, verifying patient samples, checking raw materials and equipment status, preparing finished goods quality results, to shipment approval—to be handled sequentially within a single system.
■ToolGen said on the 6th that it signed a technology transfer agreement with Avinnogen for CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. The agreement centers on applying ToolGen's foundational CRISPR-Cas9 technology to Avinnogen's avian germline editing platform to accelerate development of high value-added avian breeds and yolk-based therapeutic proteins. ToolGen is the only company in Korea that holds basic CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing patents. Avinnogen was founded in 2022 by Han Jae-yong, a professor in the Department of Animal Biotechnology at Seoul National University.
■Aprogen said on the 6th that it adjusted its existing multinational phase 3 clinical plan to focus on quality and comparative pharmacokinetics (PK), reflecting the European Medicines Agency (EMA) guidelines released to streamline biosimilar approvals. The strategy is assessed to significantly shorten the development timeline and reduce costs compared to the conventional clinical approach. The company expects to save about 130 billion won in development expenses compared with the previous plan. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a draft guidance allowing partial omission of phase 3 comparative efficacy studies (CES) in biosimilar development. With global regulatory easing spreading, Aprogen's strategic shift is expected to further accelerate market entry.
■Dongkook Pharmaceutical said on the 6th that it participated in "CPHI Worldwide 2025," a pharmaceutical and biotech industry exhibition held in Frankfurt, Germany. Operating a standalone booth, the company highlighted the technological excellence of its long-acting injectable (depot) products "Lorelin Depot" and "Octrin Lar," which use its microsphere technology. Based on phase 3 results of "Uresco Tab" (a fixed-dose combination of dutasteride and tadalafil), an incremental innovation drug for benign prostatic hyperplasia, the company emphasized the product's strong efficacy and safety data, underscoring its differentiation and market competitiveness to global buyers.
■Yuhan Corporation said on the 6th that it provided environmental education for students at Ochang Saengmyeong Elementary School on the themes of biodiversity and ESG management. The program was prepared to inform the next generation about the importance of the environment and to share the meaning of building a sustainable society. The biodiversity curriculum was linked to subjects and covered the characteristics and roles of moss, moss and the future environment, changes in autumn vegetation, and ecological experiential activities. Through these topics, students experienced firsthand the importance of ecosystems and the need to preserve biodiversity.
■Hugel, Inc. said on the 6th that it held "L.E.A.D: Letybo Experience & Discovery," a three-day professional training seminar for about 60 Brazilian dermatologists. Co-planned by Hugel and its Brazilian local partner Dermadream, the seminar aimed to boost trust in and understanding of the "Letybo" brand among Brazilian medical professionals. The detailed program included visits to major domestic aesthetic clinics and live demo viewing, a tour of the Geodu plant in Chuncheon, and sessions for networking with Korean medical staff and exchanging treatment know-how.
■Shaperon said on the 6th that it successfully completed a shareholder-allotted paid-in capital increase worth 24.9 billion won. The company issued a total of 16.1 million new shares, with existing shareholders subscribing at a high rate of 99.68%. The funds secured will be strategically invested in clinical development across various new drug pipelines and in expanding new businesses. The company plans to accelerate key projects, including the global phase 2 trial of "NuGel" for atopic dermatitis, development of the immuno-oncology drug "NanoMab," and domestic phase 1 studies for Alzheimer's and pulmonary fibrosis treatments.
■WOOJUNG BIO said on the 6th that it will collaborate with Master Meditech, a protein structure-based drug discovery company, on a new drug for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Selected for a public-private open innovation support program (demand-based, on demand), the company said it will jointly carry out the project as the demand-side participant. Master Meditech is a protein structure-based drug discovery startup with a diverse pipeline, including anticancer agents, hyperlipidemia treatments and antibiotics, and is drawing attention in structure-based drug design (SBDD). The two companies are cooperating to accelerate development of Master Meditech's innovative candidate "MMT-IDL" in the advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) market.
■Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) said on the 6th that a paper on the clinical efficacy of "Clickless," a digital therapeutic for temporomandibular disorder (TMD) designated as the first innovative medical device in Korea's dental field by the Health Industry Innovation Startup Center-supported company Beyond Medicine, was published in the international journal JMIR. The company said the controlled study internationally validated the clinical effectiveness of TMD treatment using Clickless, with the Clickless group showing statistically significant benefits in pain relief and functional improvement.
■Korea BMS said on the 6th that it wrapped up the third "Recover" program, a social contribution initiative with the Milal Welfare Foundation to improve treatment environments for low-income cancer patients. Recover supports ancillary costs needed for treatment—such as transportation, lodging and meals—for low-income cancer patients who struggle to continue care due to financial reasons. Following "Reboot," which helps young cancer patients return to society, the program has been implemented since 2023 to tangibly improve the cancer treatment environment and ensure no one forgoes treatment for economic reasons.
■Sanofi Korea said on the 6th that it launched an employee-participation environmental campaign, "Green Santa Green Planet," and carried out various activities. In line with its global "Sustainability 2.0" strategy to pursue a more sustainable future by balancing "Health" and "Planet," Sanofi has newly introduced its flagship social contribution program, "Green Santa Green Planet," evolving its long-running "Green Santa" program, which began in 2004, into a planet-centered social initiative.
■Severance Hospital said on the 6th that its Department of Dermatology's Skin Cancer Clinic achieved 5,000 cases of "Mohs micrographic surgery (Mohs surgery)" on the 3rd, a first for a single hospital in Korea. The 5,000th patient, an 83-year-old woman identified as A, was diagnosed with melanoma on the left upper lip. According to the hospital, due to concerns about surgery at an advanced age and possible lip deformation, A visited the Skin Cancer Clinic at Severance Hospital and underwent Mohs surgery by Professor Oh Byung-ho. With Mohs surgery, which precisely removes only the cancerous tissue, A maximally preserved normal skin and was discharged in good health.
■Asan Medical Center said on the 6th that it recently completed the transfer of its stem cell therapy technology developed for treating intractable immune diseases to Pharmicell. A research team led by Professors Shin Dong-myung of the Department of Cellular and Genetic Engineering and Kim Seung-hoo of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, signed a contract last month to transfer patented stem cell culture technology that simultaneously enhances the antioxidant capacity, engraftment rate and stemness of stem cells to Pharmicell. This stem cell culture technology produces functionally enhanced mesenchymal stem cells (PFO-MSC).
■Olympus Korea said it will begin ticket sales at 11 a.m. on Nov. 7 for the "Going-on Concert," a music performance for cancer survivors, their families and the general public, held with the Korean Cancer Association. Marking its 13th year, the "Going-on Concert" will take place at Lotte Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 13. The "Going-on Concert" is part of Olympus Korea's "Going-on campaign," a social contribution effort to provide emotional support and build social empathy for cancer survivors, and is designed to help survivors and their families communicate and encourage one another through music.
■Seers Technology, a wearable AI diagnostic monitoring company, said on the 6th that it obtained a domestic patent for a "multi-time-series input-based multi-stage prediction method and device for arrhythmia." With this, the company secured core AI technology that extends arrhythmia diagnostics into prediction and plans to ramp up entry into global markets. The patent covers an AI technology that departs from single-time-point analysis by segmenting electrocardiogram (ECG) signals into time units to predict arrhythmia occurrence probability in stages.
■Huons Group subsidiary Huons N said on the 6th that it will launch "Ingi Core Stick," a new product under the premium health functional food brand "PANAX.N" that helps manage brain health. The new product uses as its main ingredient "Dendropanax morbifera leaf and stem extract," an individually recognized functional raw material by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, developed to help improve cognitive function and memory. The extract is a natural material obtained from Dendropanax morbifera, a plant native to Korea. The ingredient's functionality of "helping improve cognitive ability" was validated through human application testing and in 2024 was officially recognized by the ministry as an individually approved functional raw material.