BAT’s US biotech subsidiary, Kentucky BioProcessing is developing a potential vaccine for COVID-19 that is now in pre-clinical testing, the tobacco firm said Thursday. BAT aims to gain partners and support from government agencies to manufacture a vaccine, if successful, to a capacity of between 1 million and 3 million doses per week, beginning in June, it said. The venture is not aimed at making a profit, it added. The project involves BAT’s proprietary, fast-growing tobacco pla

The Korea Electric Power Corp. on Thursday excluded Chinese firms from entering a bid for its submarine power cable project. According to an online notice posting, only countries that are members of the Government Procurement Agreement of the World Trade Organization are eligible for the international bidding of #3HVDC (high voltage, direct current) submarine power cable project connecting Wando, an island off the coast of South Jeolla Province, and Jeju Island. China is not a member of the

Despite the ambivalent sentiments about COVID-19 vaccine development, South Korean biologics company Celltrion said it was determined to continue with the project. Celltrion on Thursday said it was now screening to select the most effective antibodies to neutralize the virus behind the pandemic with the Korea Centers for Disease Control. The company aims to finish the work in a couple of weeks, after which it will start mass production of the therapeutics for clinical studies while simultane

Danaher said Thursday it has launched Cytiva -- formerly GE Healthcare Life Sciences, which it acquired for $21.4 billion -- aiming to completely rebrand the biologics side of General Electric’s business. Cytiva’s projects, spanning from cell and gene therapies to protein research, biosimilar and novel biologics drug development, are highly in demand amid the COVID-19, according to the Cytiva CEO and president, Emmanuel Ligner. After the transition from GE Healthcare Life Science

Korean air carriers that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic are undergoing restructuring to downsize the workforce amid continued losses from reduced passengers and suspensions of international routes, according to industry sources on Thursday. Eastar Jet, a local budget carrier that halted all services from March 23 for a month, said Thursday it will send 45 percent, or 750 employees, of its total workforce home from April 24.  The air carrier said it will first receive applica

Amorepacific’s male cosmetics brand BeREADY said Thursday it has launched a new eye shadow palette for men. BeREADY, which was introduced last year, said it rolled out the Mood Up Shadow Eye Palette, the first eye palette product in the market to be developed for men. The brand said the range of cosmetics used by men are expanding from skin base creams to color items. The four colors of the eye palette are chosen based on how well they blend and can also be used for facial contouring,

Unlikely popularity of costumed penguin character proves profitable

Pulmuone, a fresh food company, said Thursday it has launched two portion packs of Pulmuone Sliced Kimchi for small households, reflecting the increasing number of single and two-person households. The pack comes in two sizes -- 400 and 600 grams. While kimchi products are usually composed of 3 to 10 kilogram packs, Pulmuone said its small portion kimchi will fit the needs of small households. According to Statistics Korea, single and two-person households accounted for 57 percent of the pop

Samsung, LG, Hyundai, SK offer active support for SMEs in past months

  South Korea’s Tmon announced Thursday that it posted its first monthly operating profit in 10 years, and plans to get listed next year. The firm recorded 160 million won ($130,000) operating profit last month, becoming the first local e-commerce platform operator to be in the black. The improvement in revenue began to materialize since the fourth quarter of last year, and will hopefully continue, a company official said. Tmon this year has seen a 44 percent increase in the numb

How investors can spur better corporate governance

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday two more employees have contracted the novel coronavirus following overseas business trips. The company said two employees who work at its factory in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, tested positive for COVID-19 after they went to Brazil. The two, who work for its mobile business unit, departed for Brazil together in early February and arrived back in South Korea on Monday. Samsung said there will be no shutdown of its plants, since the two had been u