Is injection technique responsible for vaccine side effects?

Wrongly administering COVID-19 vaccines into blood vessels instead of the muscles could be behind the serious side effects, some studies have suggested. An Aug. 2 report published by the Journal of Korean Medical Sciences is one of the first in the country to suggest that technique known as aspiration -- which is pulling back on the syringe plunger before injecting the vaccine to ensure no blood vessel is accidentally punctured -- may provide better chances of avoiding side effects. The rep

Oct. 13, 2021

[News Focus] Hyperlocal e-commerce platforms taking off amid disputes over taxation

Trading of secondhand goods is nothing new. But when it is combined with a convenient mobile app and hyperlocal community functionalities, something radically different can be envisioned. A striking case in point is the soaring success of Danggeun Market, a startup which has popularized hyperlocal e-commerce app Karrot. “Danggeun,” which means carrot as well as an abbreviation for “in your neighborhood” in Korean, is now a symbol of mobile secondhand item trading here.

Oct. 13, 2021

Samsung likely to make Galaxy Flip3 ‘Bespoke’

Samsung Electronics may debut Galaxy smartphones with the “Bespoke” concept, which would allow users to customize device designs to suit their personal tastes. “Our users are multifaceted and live life in so many colorful, interesting, and unique ways,” the South Korean tech giant said in an invitation sent out to global customers and media for an additional event for the Galaxy family on Oct. 20. “As such, the technology they use every day should reflect thei

Oct. 13, 2021

EuBiologics files for phase 3 study of homegrown COVID-19 vaccine

EuBiologics has asked for the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s approval on its plan to conduct a phase 3 clinical trial of its self-developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate, becoming the second South Korean company to reach that stage in the race to develop homegrown vaccines. According to the company’s regulatory filing on Wednesday, the clinical study of its vaccine candidate EuCorVac-19 will involve 4,000 participants. The safety and efficacy of the vaccine will be evaluated throu

Oct. 13, 2021

Celltrion seeks sales approval for anticancer biosimilar in Europe

South Korean drugmaker Celltrion said Tuesday that the company has submitted an application to the European Medicines Agency for approval of the sale of its anti-cancer biosimilar candidate CT-P16. CT-P16 is a biosimilar of Roche’s Avastin, an anti-cancer treatment that kills cancer cells by preventing the growth of blood vessels. Avastin, which can treat numerous cancers, including metastatic colorectal cancer, has been Roche’s bestselling cancer drug. The patents on Avastin, h

Oct. 12, 2021

More IT devices opt for Korean OLED displays

Organic light-emitting diode displays largely produced by South Korea’s leading panel makers LG Display and Samsung Display are being deployed in more devices, squeezing out cheaper liquid crystal displays at a remarkable rate. As the market for the thinner and more flexible display panels expands, Apple is planning to adopt OLED panels for its new iPad series scheduled for 2023 for the first time, industry sources said Monday. Apple has sourced OLED panels for iPhones from both LG and

Oct. 12, 2021

LGE sees record Q3 sales, but operating profit halved on GM EV recall

LG Electronics is expected to report its highest-ever quarterly sales in the third quarter of this year, but a sharply lower operating profit due to provision expenses for a US recall. The South Korean electronics firm on Tuesday announced its earnings guidance for the July-September period -- 18.7 trillion won ($15.5 billion) in estimated revenue and 540.7 billion won in estimated operating profits. LG Electronics’ revenue exceeded a previous record set in the second quarter of this y

Oct. 12, 2021

Samsung Biologics signs CDMO deal with US-based drugmaker

Samsung Biologics said Thursday that it had signed a contract development and manufacturing organization deal with Texas-based drugmaker Enzolytics. The company did not disclose the financial terms. Under the deal, Samsung Biologics will provide end-to-end CDMO services to help Enzolytics develop and manufacture investigational new drug treatments for HIV and COVID-19. Samsung Biologics said it would provide a stable cell line from its research and development facility in San Francisco, whi

Oct. 8, 2021

Samsung Electronics expects to post all-time high earnings in Q3

Samsung Electronics said Friday that the company expected to log quarterly sales of 73 trillion won ($61.2 billion), up 9 percent from a year ago, surpassing 70 trillion won for the first time in the company’s history. The previous record in quarterly sales for the firm was 66.9 trillion won, set in the third quarter of 2020. According to Samsung’s earnings guidance, its operating profit during the July-September period has also increased 27.94 percent on-year, or by 15.8 trillio

Oct. 8, 2021

UN climate change tech unit to open office in Songdo

A United Nations’ climate change body will open an office in Songdo, Incheon, in March, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Thursday. Science Minister Lim Hye-sook and Incheon Mayor Park Nam-choon signed an agreement with UN Environment Program Executive Director Inger Andersen to bring the Climate Technology Center and Network’s partnership and liaison office to Korea. The CTCN is the operational arm of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Technology Mechan

Oct. 7, 2021

[Newsmaker] ABL Bio begins clinical trial of anticancer drug candidate

South Korean biotech firm ABL Bio said Thursday that it has begun the phase 1 clinical trial of anticancer drug candidate ABL501. ABL501 is an antibody that uses the Grabody-I platform technology to block both the PD-L1 and LAG-3 checkpoint pathways, improving the current limitation in PD-L1 therapies. ABL Bio said the company has administered the drug candidate to the first patient with a solid tumor at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul. An official from ABL Bio said the phase 1 clinical tria

Oct. 7, 2021

Samsung introduces industry’s first open-source solution for CXL memory platform

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it is unveiling an open-source software solution specially designed to expand the use of the compute express link memory platform. Dubbed a “scalable memory development kit,” or SMDK, it is the industry’s first solution for customers of the relatively new memory platform CXL developed by Samsung in May. CXL is an open interconnect standard that allows not only CPUs but also other high-performance computing system such as artificial intellige

Oct. 7, 2021

Korean edtech startups race to catch up with global rivals in robot education

South Korea has been implementing a set of educational policies aimed at helping students and teachers prepare for digital transformation in a wide array of fields. The pandemic that started last year is accelerating the shift in the educational sector toward a digital paradigm, requiring schools and policymakers to rethink the way they teach students as well as what they should teach in a new era. The Korean government, recognizing the sweeping changes sparked by the spread of COVID-19, is

Oct. 6, 2021

Edtech startup Alux aims to take lead in next-generation educational robots

Alux, a startup in the fast-growing field of educational technology, or edtech, is providing next-generation education programs based on big data, artificial intelligence and the metaverse to some 2,000 schools across the country.  Lee Chi-heon, CEO of Alux, said the Seoul-based startup is navigating a whirlwind of changes in the education market, sparked by a pandemic-induced switch from offline programs to what is called “untact” alternatives, referring mainly to contactless

Oct. 6, 2021

Samsung foldable phones hit 1 million in sales volume in Korea

The sales volume of Galaxy Z Fold3 and Flip3 has surpassed 1 million in South Korea, according to Samsung Electronics on Wednesday. The tech giant said the total number of units of the two foldable devices sold in the Korean market reached 1 million Monday, 39 days since their debut on Aug. 11. The foldable phones trailed only Samsung’s biggest hits of the Galaxy Note 10 and flagship Galaxy S8 in the pace of reaching the 1 million mark. Of the 1 million units, about 70 percent are

Oct. 6, 2021

LG Innotek showcases new substrate products at KPCA show

LG Innotek said Wednesday the company is taking part in an international trade show for substrates and chip packaging technologies to showcase its newest products and technologies. The electronic parts supplier of LG Group exhibited three new products -- 5G Antenna in Package, RF-System in Package and Chip On Film -- at the Korea International Electronic Circuits and Packaging Show 2021 that kicked a three-day run in Songdo, Incheon on Wednesday. The 5G AiP is a substrate for the antenna mod

Oct. 6, 2021

Trade minister voices concerns over chip info disclosure

South Korea’s Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo expressed concern over the US request on Korean chipmakers to disclose sensitive information about technology, clients and inventories, during his meeting Tuesday with US counterpart Katherine Tai, officials in Seoul said Wednesday. Yeo, who is currently attending a council meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, held bilateral talks with the US trade representative, where he relayed such opinion from local

Oct. 6, 2021

SK Bioscience renews vaccine deal with CEPI

South Korean drugmaker SK Bioscience announced Wednesday the company has updated its capacity reservation contract with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. Under the new agreement, CEPI can use part of SK Bioscience’s Andong production facility until 2022 for manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines. 　 SK Bioscience’s factory in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, currently has a total of nine production lines that can produce drug substances for COVID-19 vaccines. Of the to

Oct. 6, 2021

Quarter of S. Korean mobile users subscribed to 5G: data

Around a quarter of South Korea's mobile subscriptions were on 5G networks in August, data showed Wednesday, as new smartphone launches boosted user growth in the latest generation networks. As of end-August, there were 17.8 million 5G network users, accounting for 24.8 percent of the country's total 71.9 million mobile network subscriptions, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. South Korea has a population of 51 million, and some people have multiple mobile phones. The

Oct. 6, 2021

Phone market to grow slowly amid parts shortages

Despite recent releases from Samsung Electronics and Apple featuring the most advanced technologies so far, the global smartphone market is forecast to grow slowly as phone vendors struggle to secure components, including semiconductors, amid ongoing shortages worldwide. According to a recent report from market researcher Counterpoint Research, the total shipment volume of smartphones for 2021 is expected to grow 6 percent to 1.41 billion units. The growth forecast was lowered from the resea

Oct. 5, 2021