MOTORCYCLE SAFETY PROMOTION -- Seoul Metropolitan Policy Agency Commissioner Lee Ju-min (center) hands a reflective sticker to a Barogo motorcycle rider (right) during a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony Tuesday in Seoul. Woowa Bros, the operator of delivery startups Baedal Minjok and Barogo, signed a memorandum with the Seoul Metropolitan Policy Agency and other state-led public safety agencies to jointly promote traffic safety among local motorcycle deliverymen. Under the partnershi

Samsung BioLogics said Monday that its plans to build a fourth biologics production plant are “still under review,” and that its main focus at present is securing sufficient orders for its third plant, which is slated to begin commercial production in 2020.　The company has yet to set a concrete timetable for its plant expansion and will have to review market conditions before confirming the construction of a new plant, the company said.The statements followed remarks made by Samsung BioLogics CE

KOREA-INDIA PHARMA PARTNERSHIP -- Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea Chairman Vasudev Tumbe (left) and Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association Vice President Lee Seoung-Kyou (center) pose after signing a Memorandum of Understanding. Under the MOU, the two entities plan to facilitate knowledge exchange, conduct market research, plan related policies, co-host workshops and exhibitions and create business and investment opportunities, the KPBMA said. (KPBMA)

South Korean biopharma company Celltrion will begin preparations to build its first overseas production plant this year and confirm a site for the biologics facility before June, its Chairman Seo Jeong-jin announced Thursday.　Celltrion will also expand the production capacity of its upcoming overseas plant -- its third facility -- to 360,000 liters, which is triple the capacity that the drugmaker had initially planned for the new plant. The upcoming facility, which Celltrion plans to start build

South Korean pharmaceutical company Dong-A ST said Friday that it has entered into a joint research agreement with AstraZeneca to develop new innovative immuno-oncology drug candidates. Under the agreement -- which was signed during the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco on Thursday -- the two drugmkers will collaborate on three oncology research projects under the lead of AstraZeneca. Details of the projects were not revealed, due to contract stipulations.Dong-A ST Vice President

Every morning, the smell of freshly baked pastries fills the air of the underground corridors connecting Line 2 and Line 4 of Sadang Station in Seoul. The pleasant smell is enough to make even the busiest Seoulite stop for a moment for a quick bite to-go.Such is the case for 30-year-old Lee Hye-in, who was waiting in line to make a purchase at the bakery inside Sadang Station on Wednesday. Various breads are on display at a bakery inside Sadang Station (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)“I stop by

Facebook said Thursday that it has expressed to South Korea’s state media regulator its willingness to carry out smooth negotiations with local internet service providers over sharing the costs of maintaining the quality and speed of Facebook’s data traffic-heavy services. 　Kevin Martin, vice president for mobile and global access policy at Facebook, met with Korea Communications Commission Chairman Lee Hyo-seong on Wednesday to discuss current issues concerning Facebook Korea and the broader in

South Korea’s Daewoong Pharmaceuticals said Thursday that its clinical trial plans for Nabota, the drugmaker’s botulinum toxin Type A, has been approved by China’s drug regulator, paving the way for the drug’s future launch in China.Daewoong said that its clinical trial application for Nabota has been approved by the China Food and Drug Administration. As a result, it will begin phase 3 trials for the drug this year, with aims to commercialize it in China by 2020.Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s China

FACEBOOK IN KOREA -- Kevin Martin, Facebook‘s vice president for mobile and global access policy, enters the government complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, to meet Korea Communications Commission Chairman Lee Hyo-seong and discuss local network providers’ claims that foreign internet giants fail to pay enough for the networks they use here. During the meeting KCC Chairman Lee Hyo-sung urged Facebook to pay Korean internet service providers network usage fees that reflect the amount of traffi

The International Vaccine Institute said Tuesday that the world’s first oral cholera vaccine packaged in plastic tube vials is now available for purchase by international procurement agencies and United Nations agencies.The oral cholera vaccine, named Euvichol-Plus, was developed by South Korean drugmaker EuBiologics based on a technology transfer from the IVI. The vaccine has officially arrived in the market after the first shipment of 2.45 million dosages were delivered to Zambia and Somlia on

South Korea’s video gaming giant Nexon is eyeing global success with its new open world mobile role-playing game “Durango: Wild Lands” as it pioneers a new genre in mobile gaming with hopes of enticing mobile gamers in both Asia and the West.　 “Durango: Wild Lands” is slated to officially open for play in Korea from Jan. 25 via Google Play and the Apple App Store, and arrive in global markets including North America within this year, according to Nexon. The upcoming mobile game was developed for

Naver, which operates South Korea’s most widely used portal website, has come under fire for removing certain “relevant search words” on its search engine, in what experts see is a value judgment between privacy protection and citizens’ “right to know.”　The news comes just months after Naver admitted to removing a negative article about a local sports organization from its main news tab upon the body’s request, sparking concerns over the internet giant’s transparency.Naver`s headquarters in Pang

In search of new partnerships and foreign investments, South Korean pharmaceutical companies have headed to the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference to promote their drug pipelines and business portfolios to global investors.The annual four-day event, which kicks off Monday in San Francisco, California, is the world’s largest and oldest annual health care symposium, which brings together the world’s top pharmaceutical firms and investors to seek out new drug candidates and technologies.The JP Morgan

　South Korean biotechnology firm Nature Cell said Friday that it has published clinical research showing that receiving multiple injections of the firm’s fat tissue-derived stem cells does not affect a person’s likelihood of getting cancer.　It is the first time that scientists have officially published a long-term clinical study showing that there is no meaningful correlation between fat tissue-derived stem cell injections and the onset of cancer, according to the company.　The research paper, ti

From steering wheels with built-in alcohol-detecting breathalyzers to a smart pillow that automatically adjusts itself to help mold a newborn’s head into the right shape, South Korean college students have been recognized for coming up with ideas for several new nanotechnology-based innovations that have yet to hit the market.South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT on Thursday awarded 10 student teams from local universities for winning a competition to present viable ways to apply Korea’s cur