Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Il-Yang Pharm CEO honored for contributions in healthcare
By Nam Hyun-woo
Il-Yang Pharmaceutical CEO Kim Dong-yeon
By Nam Hyun-woo
Il-Yang Pharmaceutical CEO Kim Dong-yeon has received the top prize in the healthcare segment of the 6th Korea Awards, for his firm's contribution to developing the leukemia treatment Supect.
According to the World Federation of Power Leaders, the organizer of the awards, Monday, Kim was chosen as the winner of the award in acknowledgement of Il-Yang Pharmaceutical's achievement in developing the treatment, which won domestic approval in 2012 as the 18th novel drug developed in Korea.
Supect won keen attention among as one of the substitutes for Novartis' Gleevec, due to its comparatively cheaper price. Supect's cost for a monthly course is 1.79 million won, while that of Gleevec ranges from 3 million won to 6 million won in Korea.
In February last year, a team led by Kim Dong-wook of Seoul St. Mary's Hematology Hospital published an article in the British Journal of Haematology, and stated Supect has been statistically proven to have a better therapeutic effect in more patients than Gleevec in a four-year study tracking 241 chronic myelogenous leukemia patients in 24 hospitals in Korea, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.
According to the article, patients with newly diagnosed myeloid leukemia in its chronic phase demonstrated significantly faster and higher rates of major molecular response at 86 percent compared to 75 percent for Gleevec.
Recently, the efficacy of Supect in treating other diseases has been studied. In October, Il-Yang said it won approval from France's National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) on a Phase 2 clinical study using Supect as a treatment for Parkinson's disease.
In May, Il-Yang won Russian approval for a Phase 3 trial to evaluate Supect's efficacy in treating COVID-19. It marked the first case of a treatment developed in Korea being approved for overseas clinical trials to treat COVID-19.
Along with Supect, the organizers acknowledged Kim's contribution in leading the firm during its development of peptic ulcer treatment Ilaprazole and a number of flu vaccines.
Kim earned his doctoral degree at Ajou University in medical chemistry. He joined Il-yang in 1976 as a researcher.
Along with Kim, the 6th Korea Awards were presented to 12 awardees for achievements in 10 segments ― national innovation, legislation, science, economics, local development, education, healthcare, tourism, social contribution and culture.