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- 2026-05-15 17:25:20
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- AbbVie Skyrizi approved, a new option for psoriasis
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Dec 09, 2019 06:26am
- Patients with plaque psoriasis now has another interleukin inhibitor option. On Dec. 3, AbbVie Korea announced Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) approved its interleukin-23 (IL-23) inhibitor Skyrizi Prefilled Syringe (risankizumab) for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis in adult patients who are candidates for systemic therapy (whole-body therapy including biologic treatment) or phototherapy. Skyrizi is part of a collaboration between Boehringer Ingelheim and AbbVie, which AbbVie is managing development and global sales. The ministry’s approval was based on ultIMMa-1 and ultIMMa-2 clinical trials, where patients were treated with Skyrizi showed high level of condition improvement at 16 weeks. And during ultIMMa-1 and ultIMMa-2 trials, 82 and 82 percent of the patients achieved Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) 90 at one year (52 weeks), and 56 and 60 percent of the patients achieved PASI 100, respectively. PASI 100 indicates the patient’s condition has achieved a complete resolution. Skyrizi administration starts with 150 mg initiation dose injected subcutaneously at week 0 and 4, followed by injection at every 12 weeks. Among the biologic IL-23 inhibitor class medicines approved in Korea, the treatment is has the minimum administration frequency of four times a year, which can be injected at a hospital or self-injected after training. Professor Youn Sang Woon at Dermatology Department of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital explained “Severe psoriasis can gravely affect patient’s quality of life physically, mentally and socially. Respective case has widely different treatment reaction, and patients usually experience various adverse reactions during a long period of treatment”. “In a Phase 3 clinical trial, patients treated with Skyrizi showed over 90 percent of improvement at 16 weeks, and 80 percent of the patients maintained the state even after a year. Such positive findings confirm Skyrizi to be a new competitive treatment option for treating severe psoriasis condition and maintaining recovered state”, the professor elaborated. Skyrizi also reaffirmed its treatment effect and safety in four clinical studies conducted with 2,109 patients (ultIMMa-1, ultIMMa-2, IMMhance and IMMvent). During the ultIMMa-1 and ultIMMa-2 trials, 74 percent of Skyrizi-treated patients demonstrated 90 percent of recovery rate (PASI 90) at week 16, and 36 and 51 percent of patients achieved 100 percent recovery (PASI 100) in the trials, respectively. In fact, an integrated analysis of ultIMMa-1 and ultIMMa-2 showed most patients treated with Skyrizi who recovered 90 and 100 percent (PASI 90 and 100) at week 16 maintained the state at one year point.
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- 'Jardiance' reaffirms CV benefits over DPP-4 inhibitors
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Dec 09, 2019 06:26am
- Research shows that SGLT-2 inhibitor ‘Jardiance’ has more cardiovascular benefits than DPP-4 inhibitors. Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly are the first to analyze Jardiance’s effectiveness of the EMPRISE (Empagliflozin Comparative Effectiveness and Safety) Asia study at the International Diabetes Federation, IDF presented at the General Assembly site. The EMPRISE Asia study included approximately 57,000 adults with type 2 diabetes in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, with or without cardiovascular disease. The first validity analysis of the study showed that Jardiance has benefits in hospitals due to lower heart failure, end-stage renal failure, and all-cause mortality risks compared to DPP-4 inhibitors in real clinical settings. According to the analysis, Jardiance reduced the risk of death from heart failure by 18%, the risk of developing end-stage renal failure by 63% and the risk of death by all causes by 36% in adults with type 2 diabetes. According to the analysis, Jardiance reduced the risk of death from heart failure by 18%, the risk of developing end-stage renal failure by 63% and the risk of death by all causes by 36% in adults with type 2 diabetes. Daejoong Kim, a professor of endocrine medicine at Ajou University Hospital, a researcher at EMPRISE Asia said “"Jardiane has been shown to reduce the incidence of deaths in people with type 2 diabetes compared to DPP-4 inhibitors, and it is a convincing result that the reduction in death of Jardiance, identified through the EMPR-REG OUTCOME study, can be consistently provided to Korean patients in a real clinical setting”. The results of the EMPRISE Asia study complement the findings of the EMPA-REG OUTCOME study, which shows that Jardiance provides cardiovascular and renal benefits in addition to metabolic effects in patients with type 2 diabetes with cardiovascular disease. In the EMPA-REG OUTCOME study and sub-analysis, Jatdiance reduced the relative risk of hospitalization due to heart failure by 35%, the relative risk of death from all causes by 32%, and the relative risk of developing or worsening kidney disease by 39%.
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- Celltrion, achieved first $1 billion exports in Korea
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Dec 09, 2019 06:26am
- Celltrion Healthcare announced on the 5th that it won '$1 Billion Export Tower award ' at the 56th Trade Day Ceremony hosted by the Korea International Trade Association. Whole view of Celltrion Healthcare HeadquartersCelltrion Healthcare is the first Korean pharmaceutical bio company to surpass $1 billion in annual exports. Only five companies have received more than $1 billion towers. SK Trading International won $10 billion tower, and Hyundai Construction Equipment, Kumho P&B Chemicals, Nexen Tire received the $1 billion tower with Celltrion Healthcare. Celltrion Healthcare is an affiliate of Celltrion and Chairman Seo, Jung-jin, Celltrion, is the largest shareholder (35.69% stake). Celltrion Healthcare receives antibody biosimilar products from Celltrion and sells them to global distributors. Celltrion Healthcare's sales represent the export of biosimilars developed by Celltrion. Celltrion sells a total of three biosimilars in Europe and the United States, including ‘Remsima’, ‘Truxima’ and ‘Herzuma’. Remsima's original drug is Janssen's Remicade. 'Truxima' and 'Herzuma' are Mabthera’s and Herceptin’s biosimilar products, respectively. Celltrion Healthcare received a $1 billion export tower four years after winning the $300 million export tower in 2015 as biosimilar sales increased. According to Celltrion Healthcare's quarterly report, the cumulative exports of the three biosimilars in the third quarter totaled ₩7,828 billion. It was 57.9% higher than ₩4,956 billion in the same period last year. Remsima's exports increased 60.1% yoy to ₩399 billion, and Truxima's exports soared 148.3% to ₩34.6 billon. Although Herzuma's exports fell by 42.2%, Remsima's and Truxima's propaganda boosted exports. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, ‘2018 Domestic Drug Production Imports and Exports’, total drug exports last year totaled $4.67 billion. Celltrion Healthcare accounts for about 20% of annual drug exports. On this day, Hyeong-ki Kim, the CEO of Celltrion Healthcare, received the prize of the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy's commendation for leading Korea's pharmaceutical exports. The CEO said, “Three biosimilar products have achieved great results in the global market, opening the era of ₩1 trillion in exports of pharmaceuticals to biopharmaceutical companies, and we will focus on expanding exports with the goal of winning the $ 2 billion Export Tower within the next 1-2 years”.
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- Terramycin out again, Pfizer says February next year
- by Jung, Hye-Jin Dec 09, 2019 06:26am
- Pfizer Korea’s Terramycin ophthalmic ointment (3.5 g) is out of stock yet again. Pharmacies are expecting to fall into confusion as the versatile ointment is used vastly with affordable reimbursed price for various conditions. Pfizer Korea notified distributors and pharmacies recently that the production schedule of Terramycin ophthalmic ointment has been delayed and accordingly the supply would be suspended temporarily. The company expects drug supply would resume in around February next year. The ointment was experiencing a long-term shortage for 18 months from 2016 to 2017, and gained the title of ‘problematic out-of-stock drug.’ At the time, Korean Pharmaceutical Association (KPA) demanded Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) for a countermeasure as hospitals and clinics continued to prescribe Terramycin ointment despite the shortage. Terramycin ophthalmic ointment is popular among patients as it is used to treat a wide variety of superficial ocular infections, such as corneal ulcer and conjectivitis, and also because of its affordable price. The usage volume has surged lately as increasing number of pet owners started applying the ointment on their pets Besides, the reimbursed price of 385 won is another attractive factor of the product. The prescribed ointment sold about 180 million won, or about 470,000 units in the first half of the year alone. Even before Pfizer Korea disseminated an official notice, online shops and major distributor have gone out of stock. A number of major online shops have out-of-stock notice on their websites, and distributors are doing their best to find leftover stock. A drug distributor source explained, “When the rumor about the shortage spread, the stock level had already plummeted since the beginning of November. The shortage seems to have begun earlier as some concerned pharmacies have ordered excessive amount than usual”.
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- Xolair reimbursed in China, Concerns over Korea Passing
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Dec 06, 2019 09:46am
- Novartis' Xolair is listed as a reimbursed drug in China. Analysts say that 'Korea Passing' is a reality in the industry Xolair, a chronic rash treatment drug, has been cited as one of the leading examples of Korea Passing, 'withholding or withdrawal of reimbursement in Korea to be listed in China and other countries'. China's National Health Insurance Corporation recently released the 'National Basic Medical Insurance Drug List', which is a list of Korea's health insurance benefits. Seventy new drugs are on the reimbusement list Since August, the Chinese government has held a 'medical insurance drug access negotiation', which corresponds to Korea's reimbursement adequacy evaluation and drug price negotiations. Negotiation targets were 119. In the end, 70 new drugs reached an agreement in the drug price negotiation. Xolair withdrew his reimbursement in Korea, finally on the Chinese reimbursement list The most noticeable item is Xolair. Novartis' Xolair passed the Drug Benefits Evaluation Committee in December last year. It was 11 years in Korea. However, Novartis abruptly withdrew from the drug negotiations with the National Health Insurance Corporation. The cause was China. China added Korea as one of its reimbursed reference countries, and Novartis headquarters decided to rule out 'a situation where the reimbursed price could be lowered' in the Chinese market, where purchasing power is 20 times that of Korea. The result was China's listing of reimbursemt. Xolair is listed as one of the 70 reimbusement items listed. However, the listed price of Xolair is not conveyed. The Chinese government has decided to keep the specific reimbursed price secret from this negotiation. Xolair's listing suggests much to Korea in that Korea's passing has become a reality. In Korea, concerns about Korea Passing have been growing over the past two years. An industry official said, "It was finally confirmed that global pharmaceutical companies withdrew from China or gave up their reimbursement in Korea, with the Chinese market in mind." He said, "If Novartis reapply for reimbursement in Korea, the damage is expected not to be small". China has finalized its reimbusement listing policy for 70 new drugs. Chinese Medical Insurance Bureau Website Captured Reimbursement entry including Humira, Lynparza, Forxiga, Zepatier The newly listed new drugs include 70 items, including 18 Chinese medicines. Anticancer agents, diabetes treatment agents, TNF alpha inhibitors, hepatitis C treatment agents, pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment agents, HIV treatment agents and the like. In case of anticancer drugs, ▲Roche's lung cancer treatment agent 'Alecensa' ▲ AstraZeneca's colorectal cancer treatment 'Tomudex' ▲ AstraZeneca's breast cancer and ovarian cancer treatment 'Lynparza' ▲ 'Jakavi' from Novartis, a treatment for myelofibrosis, a type of rare blood cancer entered the reimbursed list Chinese pharmaceutical companies named their own anticancer drugs. Daboshu ( Sinnatimab), a treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma jointly developed by Innovent Biologics, in collaboration with Eli Lilly; Hutchison China MediTech's Colorectal Cancer Treatment 'Elunate' (Fruquintinib), The anti-pharmaceutical treatment for breast cancer 'Henrui'(Pyrotinib) is also on the list. Diabetes treatments have also entered the reimbursed list. The GLP-1 series includes AstraZeneca's Byetta and Sanofi's Lyxumia, and among the SGLT-2 lines, AstraZeneca's Forxiga, Boehringer Ingelheim’s Jadiance, Jansen’s Invokana. Etc. were included. Autoimmune disease treatment was also applied as a benefit. Abbvie's Humira, Jansen's 'Remicade', Pfizer's Xeljanes as JAK inhibitor, and , Novartis' 'Xolair' as IgE (immunoglobulin E) inhibitors, respectively are on the list. The hepatitis C treatments included MSD's Zepatier, Gilead's Eplusa and Harvoni. Two new HIV treatments were added, Gilead's Genvoya and Descovy. In addition, GSK's' Trelege Ellipta 'and Novartis' Ultibro' as a COPD therapy inhalation, Novartis' Entresto as a chronic heart failure treatment, Bayer's ‘Eylea 'as a treatment for macular degeneration, and retinal diseases Allegan's Ozurdex was included as a treatment. This is a list of major drugs listed. 8 Chinese-developed drugs have been listed on the reimbursement list, including 3 anticancer drugs in the red box. 70 New Drugs Cut Average Price by 61% "Hepatitis C pill, the world's lowest" This reimbursement update is shown in 'Drug cost reduction'. According to major Chinese media, including Xinhua News Agency, the average price cut of 70 new drugs is 61%. Like Korea, China is deeply concerned about the increase in reimbursement and drug costs. Since 2017, China has updated its list every year since 2017, and has been negotiating drug prices with global pharmaceutical companies. The high marketability of the population of more than 1.4 billion is the backdrop for the Chinese government to demand strong drug prices from pharmaceutical companies. In fact, most negotiated drug prices are among the lowest in the world. For example, three hepatitis C treatments reported that the average price was reduced by 85%. Existing hepatitis C treatment prices ranged from ¥ 30,000 to 70,000 (about ₩ 505 to 11.78 million). On the basis of this, it is possible to calculate ¥4500-4500 (about ₩760,000-17.7 million). The Chinese press describes it as "the lowest price in the world." Self developed anticancer drug surpasses Keytruda and Opdivo, listed Another point is the protection of homegrown medicines. Of the 70 drugs added, eight drugs, including Daboshu-Elunate, were developed by Chinese pharmaceutical companies. In particular, Daboshu attracts attention as it is the first to be paid for PD-L1 immunocancer drugs. Other PD-L1 immunocancer drugs, Keytruda and Opdivo, are not yet listed Daboshu is the result of the creation of a major drug, part of China's national science and technology project. After getting a marketing license in December last year, it quickly entered the reimbursement list. This year, the Chinese Society for Clinical Oncology (CSSO) revised its guidelines for lymphoma treatment and encouraged Dabosche's prescription. Elunate is similar. After getting a marketing license in September last year, it entered the reimbursed list relatively quickly. This is a part of the Chinese government's view of in-house developed medicine.
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- High-risk osteoporosis should increase bone formation first
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Dec 06, 2019 09:43am
- KSBMR Chair Chung Ho-yeon “For a high-risk patient, it would be better to use effective bone-forming agent from the beginning.” Amgen Korea held a press conference held on Dec. 4 for the launch of Evenity (romosozumab-aqqg), where Chair Chung Ho-yeon of Korean Society for Bone and Mineral Research (KSBMR) stressed on the importance of top-down style prescription with the new option of osteoporosis treatment. He urged medical professions should choose prioritized option recommended as a medication strategy for patients at high risk and in need of urgent treatment effect. Particularly, Chung highlighted 12-month Evenity treatment showed increased bone formation effect in vertebral and hip fracture, more than with teriparatide. A number of clinical data confirmed Evenity, compared to single therapy with alendronate, notably reduces risk in new vertebral or non-vertebral fracture. “The prevalence rate of osteoporosis in age group over 50 has been constantly rising after 2008. More than anything, osteoporosis within a year results in hip fracture for one out of five patients, and in vertebral fracture for one out of ten patients, which can lead to possible deaths”, Chair Chung emphasized. Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) granted approval on Evenity in May 31. Now Evenity can be used on treating severe osteoporosis in postmenopausal women at a high risk of fracture, and to increase bone mineral density for men with osteoporosis at a high risk of fracture. A target therapy Evenity is the first dual-acting osteoporosis drug that increases bone growth by inhibiting the activity of sclerostin, a protein that regulates bone formation, and also inhibits bone resorption. The treatment is administered once-monthly in two separate subcutaneous injections (105 mg each, 210 mg in total) on different body parts. After administering full 12 doses, maintenance therapy with bone resorption inhibitor is needed. MFDS’ approval was based on Phase 3 FRAME and ARCH studies treating postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, and Phase 3 BRIDGE study treating men with osteoporosis. First, the Phase 3 FRAME trial compared Evenity with placebo in menopausal women with a T-score of -2.5 to -3.5 at the total hip or femoral neck. And the result showed that the treatment lowered risk of new vertebral fracture. Treated with Evenity for 12 months, the risk of new vertebral fracture was reduced by 73 percent compared with placebo. Patients who switched to Prolia for 12 months after 12-month Evenity treatment had a 75 percent lower risk of new vertebral fracture compared to patients who switched to Prolia from placebo. In the Phase 3 ARCH trial, comparing Evenity and alendronate, romosozumab showed outstanding preventive effect on postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and high risk of fracture by lowering incidence of both vertebral fracture and clinical fracture. A group of patients, who switched to alendronate after 12-month Evenity treatment, lowered risk of new vertebral fracture by 50 percent at 24-month compared to a group with alendronate treatment only. Also in BRIDGE trial comparing Evenity with placebo treating men with osteoporosis, 12 months of the treatment increased patient’s bone mineral density by 12.1 percent more than placebo, demonstrating a meaningful improvement in bone mineral density. “The U.S. Endocrine Society’s (ENDO) guideline revised in 2019 recommends bone formation agent as a first-line treatment for osteoporosis patient with fracture. With dual effect of increasing bone formation and reducing bone resorption, Evenity can be considered as a prioritized option recommended for treating osteoporosis at super high risk”.
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- 3rd PARP inhibitor Talzenna readies for Korean market
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Dec 06, 2019 09:39am
- A pharmaceutical industry source reported on Dec. 6 that Pfizer Korea has recently submitted an application to Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) for an approval on PARP inhibitor Talzenna (talazoparib). When it gets the green light from the ministry, it would be the third PARP inhibitor medicine in Korea to enter the market, following AstraZeneca’s Lynparza (olaparib) and Takeda Pharmaceutical’s Zejula (niraparib). The application is for an approval on a single therapy indication to treat locally advanced or metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer in women with an inherited BRCA mutation. The treatment has been approved in Europe last June and the U.S. in October last year. Talzenna demonstrated its efficacy during EMBRACA trial with 431 patients. As a result, Talzenna arm well-surpassed the standard chemotherapy arm’s 5.6-month median progression-free survival (PFS) as it was extended to 8.6 months. Talzenna arm also demonstrated an objective response rate (ORR) of 62.6 percent, significantly higher than that in the standard chemotherapy arm with 27.2 percent. The most common adverse reactions of patients receiving Talzenna were fatigue, anemia, nausea, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, headache, hair loss, diarrhea, and loss of appetite. In Korea, AstraZeneca’s Lynparza was the first PARP inhibitor to be listed for reimbursement. With the economic evaluation exemption system, Lynparza signed an expenditure cap type risk sharing agreement (RSA) in October 2017. Just recently, the treatment expanded approval on indication as a first-line maintenance therapy for advanced ovarian cancer, a first and second-line therapy on ovarian cancer with additional administration type (tablet), and a treatment for HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. Meanwhile, another PARP inhibitor Zejula was granted with reimbursement starting from this month. The treatment can be prescribed as a single maintenance therapy for platinum-sensitive adult patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer, who are in a complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy. However, Zejula’s first reimbursement scope is limited to patients with BRCA mutation.
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- Ildong exclusively sells 9 kinds of GSK generic drugs
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Dec 04, 2019 06:41am
- Ildong Pharmaceuticals announced on the 2nd that it has signed 9 co-promotional contracts with GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Korea, including general medicines. With this agreement, Ildong Pharmaceuticals is a comprehensive cold medicine ‘ theraflu’, an ophthalmic drug ‘Otrivin’, a non-smoking supplement ‘Nicotinell’, a hyperhidrosis cure, ‘Driclor soln’, an external anti-inflammatory analgesic ‘ Voltaren’, a denture attachment ‘Polident’, toothpaste ‘Sensodyne’, ‘Paradontax’, and band medical expander,‘Breathlite’. Last year, domestic sales of nine products stood at about ₩46 billion. It is equivalent to 9% of last year's consolidated revenue. Ildong Pharmaceuticals will be in charge of distribution, sales and marketing of co-promotional products to the pharmacy market from next year. GSK Consumer Healthcare Korea will support brand marketing and customer service related tasks. Dong-wha Pharmaceticals was in charge of distribution and sales of products that Ildong Pharmaceutical decided to sell. Dong-wha Pharmaceutials entered into a copyright agreement with GSK until 2020, but due to the merger of GSK and Pfizer Healthcare, the company was terminated and decided to terminate the contract by the end of this year. Ildong Pharmaceutical anticipated that, starting next year, the company will be able to achieve annual sales of more than ₩200 billion only through the OTC pharmaceutical business. Ildong Pharmaceuticals is known to have differentiated competitiveness in the field of OTC and consumer healthcare by possessing a number of well-known brands such as Aronamin, the No.1 best selling drug in Korea, and specialized sales and marketing organizations and human resources. The company explained that the company's online drug store 'Ildong Shop' was able to increase profitability as well as sales through efficient distribution and inventory management. A representative of Ildong Pharmaceutical said, “We have expanded our cooperation with GSK Consumer Healthcare Korea and OTC / Consumer Healthcare after co-promotion of flu medicine, Relenza with GSK Korea. We will continue to look for partnerships that will allow us to work together and grow together in the medium to long term”.
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- Narcolepsy treatment, Nuvigil settled down in Big 5 hospital
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Dec 04, 2019 06:41am
- Narcolepsy treatment, Nuvigil are facing the entry in Big 5 hospitals. According to the industry, Handokteva's Nuvigil (Amordafinil) has passed the SNUH, Severance Hospital, SMC, and ASAN Medical Center's drug commitee (DC). In addition, prescription code was generated at St. Vincent's Hospital of Catholic University. The system of St. Mary's Hospitals is centralized, and must be approved by the Seoul St. Mary's Hospital before the code is applied to the entire St. Mary's Hospital. It has entered into an unusual case. Nuvigil was released last September in the health insurance reimbursement list in June last year for the treatment of hypersomnia related to adult narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a symptom controlled through drug treatment. Currently, there are few treatments, so the choice is very limited. Nuvigil is an R-isomer of Amordafinil, which is currently used as a treatment for narcolepsy, and is characterized by an improved drug convenience by improving the duration of drug efficacy. Nuvigil, the active isomer of sleep seizure treatment Provigil (Modafinil), is a blockbuster drug with sales of about $80 million (about ₩94.8 billion). Teva acquired Nuvigil in 2011 by taking over Cephalon inc, the original developer. In Korea, it was approved as an indication for 'excessive drowsiness related to narcolepsy'. Nuvigil is prescribed for sleep attacks, obstructive sleep apnea, and shift work sleep disorder. In particular, a study comparing Nuvigil and placebo in 245 patients with shift work sleep disorder was noted. In this study, the proportion of patients whose sleep latency was more than 5 minutes, measured by multiple sleep latency tests, was 38% in the Nuvigil’s group, 17% above placebo. An official of the Sleep Society said, "Nuvigil is a drug that improves waking conditions without interfering with the sleeping state. Although there is a late entry into Korea, it is expected to be used in various ways".
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- 8 multinational companies name new CEOs in Korea
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Dec 03, 2019 03:21pm
- From top left; Vice-chair Lee Youngshin, CEO Moon Hee-seok, CEO Shin Jung-beom, President Alberto Riva, CEO Kang So Young, CEO Lee Hye-young, CEO Kim Jinyoung, and CEO Kang Sangwook Sources report eight global pharmaceutical companies have appointed new CEOs of Korean affiliates this year only. Daily Pharm surveyed a roster of major 30 multinational companies’ Korean affiliate CEOs as of Dec. 4, and found about 28 percent of the companies have either replaced or newly appointed the top executive personnel. While several companies had a regular personnel reshuffle, others had a new personnel this year for specific reasons like merger, corporate split, and disciplinary dismissal. Roster of Korean affiliate CEOs of multinational pharmaceutical companies (as of Dec. 2019) First, Takeda Pharmaceutical and Bristol-Myers Squibb completed their acquisitions of Shire and Celgene, respectively, and welcomed new CEOs to their merged organizations. As for Takeda Pharmaceutical Korea, when the former CEO Mahender Nayak left the position it was vacant until the former CEO of merged company Shire Korea, Moon Hee-seok took over. With such development, the pharmaceutical industry had their eyes on the recently merged Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and Celgene Korea’s CEO. BMS ultimately chose a promotion from within. BMS also had a vacant CEO position for a while as the former CEO Park Hye-sun left suddenly before her term ended in May. And the former CEO of Celgene, Ham Tae-jin was re-elected for another term. Although the BMS headquarters interviewed number of major candidates from Korean pharmaceutical industry, including CEO Ham Tae-jin, it appointed then acting CEO and former head of Legal and Compliance division of BMS Korea as an official CEO of the merged company. Some top executives, who served their company for a long term, left the position. A former general manager of Abbvie Korea, Yoo Hong-Ki had his retirement ceremony in last March after leading the company for over a decade, even before Abbvie was split from Abbott. As he left the company, he appointed former vice-president Kang So Young as a new general manager of the Korean branch. Menarini Korea also saw the former president Albert Kim leave last year, who served the company since before Invida was acquired by Menarini. The position was replaced by Park Hyeyoung. Pfizer Upjohn Korea, established with the recent Pfizer split, appointed Lee Hye-young as the first head of the company. Before she was appointed as a CEO, Lee used to lead Pfizer Korea’s off-patent product division. In addition, Lilly Korea appointed Alberto Riva, LEO Pharma Korea appointed former Roche personnel Shin Jung-beom, and GSK Consumer Healthcare invited former L'Oréal personnel Kang Sangwook as the new heads of their Korean affiliates. The Korea Research-based Pharmaceutical Industry Association (KRPIA) also welcomed a new CEO, Youngshin Lee. Meanwhile, this year’s ratio of Korean personnel, as a CEO of Korean affiliate of multinational pharmaceutical company, soared to 66 percent from 50 percent last year. And overall female CEO ratio in the multinational companies reached 30 percent.
