[THE INVESTOR] The price of biosimilars and new drugs that are covered under the national health insurance will increase from October, government plans showed on July 7. The price of biosimilar drugs will be priced up to 80 percent of the branded drugs, a 10 percent increase from the current 70 percent rate. The Health and Welfare Ministry unveiled a set of measures to foster the local pharmaceutical industry in a trade and investment promotion meeting chaired by President Park Geun-hye on July

[THE INVESTOR] The government will draw up support measures for local medical institutions that enter overseas markets, and allow insurance schemes for foreign medical tourists, the government revealed on July 5. The plans were included in the government’s strategy for boosting Korea’s service industry. Support for medical institutions’ overseas expansion will include funding and tax benefits. As part of the plans for luring medical tourists to Korea, insurance companies will be allowed to sell

[THE INVESTOR] A handful of Korean pharmaceutical companies are scurrying to set up venture capital firms to find new revenue sources by investing in smaller firms in need of capital. Hanmi Pharm announced on July 4 that it has founded a 10 billion won (US$ 8.7 million) investment company that will invest into biotech and pharmaceutical fields. “We will contribute to create an open innovation ecosystem by focusing on discovering new drug candidates and pharmaceutical and biotech start-ups,” said

[THE INVESTOR] Hanmi Pharm announced on July 4 that it has founded a 10 billion won (US$ 8.7 million) investment company that will invest in biotech and pharmaceutical fields. The new company, named Hanmi Ventures, will be headed by Hanmi IT CEO Lim Jong-hoon, and the capital was raised from Hanmi Pharm chairman Lim Sung-ki and the company’s affiliates. Hanmi Ventures plans to initially focus on investing in pharmaceutical and biotech related fields, and Hanmi Science and Hanmi Pharm will take o

[THE INVESTOR] Bukwang Pharmaceutical ’s subsidiary Dyna Therapeutics has clinched a deal with Denmark’s Solural Pharma for its new anti-cancer drug, the company said on June 30. Solural PharmaDyna Therapeutic attained the exclusive rights to develop and sell SOL-804, which is used for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer, around the world. “Bukwang is continuously pursuing to develop new medicine and the establishment of Dyna is part of that effort,” an official of the company

[THE INVESTOR] Local pharmaceutical companies showed a less than 1 percent increase in their return-on-equity ratio in the first quarter of this year, data showed on June 30. The ratio -- a measure of corporate profitability -- of 80 public pharmaceutical companies rose just 0.2 percent on-year to 1.9 percent, according to Pharmscore, a provider of analysis on health and medical industry. Shareholders’ equity of the 80 firms stood at 15.059 trillion won (US$13 billion), up 1.89 trillion won from

[THE INVESTOR] Korean pharmaceutical firm Medipost has been granted a US patent for its cell therapeutic technology used in its osteoarthritis treatment solution Cartistem, the company’s spokesperson said on June 29. The mechanism alleviates knee cartilage pains with mesenchymal stem cells extracted from allogeneic umbilical cord blood. Medipost's osteoarthritis treatment solution CartistemMedipost already holds US patents for its two other cell-based technologies that act as bases for treatment