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Medytox to file suit to reverse gov't revoking of license

Meditoxin botulinum toxin products developed by Medytox / Courtesy of MedytoxBy Jun Ji-hyeMedytox plans to file a lawsuit to ask a court to reverse the drug safety watchdog's decision to revoke the botulinum toxin maker's license to sell its products, company officials said Thursday.“We will cope with the situation by applying for a provisional injunction and filing a lawsuit to nullify the decision,” a Medytox official said. The comments came hours after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that the permit of the company's 50-unit, 100-unit and 150-unit Meditoxin products will be revoked and permanently removed from domestic shelves, starting from June 25.The ministry said the pharmaceutical company was found to have used an unapproved ingredient to produce the drug and fabricated efficacy test results between 2012 and 2015 to obtain the license to manufacture and sell the products.The ministry noted such acts were in violation of pharmaceutical laws.“A company that fabricates documents and distributes inappropriate products cannot be trusted,” a mi

Jun 18, 2020
Medytox to file suit to reverse gov't revoking of license

Drug safety agency revokes permit for Medytox's botulinum toxin products

YonhapSouth Korea's drug safety watchdog said Thursday it will revoke the permit of the country's first botulinum toxin products by Medytox as the products were made using an unapproved ingredient and the company fabricated related documents.The three Meditoxin products ― which come in bottles of 50 units, 100 units and 150 units ― will be permanently removed from domestic shelves starting on June 25, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The ministry also ordered Medytox to recall the three products, urging local hospitals to participate in the action.The decision comes after Medytox, the country's leading producer of botulinum toxin products, won the first license for the production of botulinum toxin in 2006.Meditoxin is a clostridium botulinum toxin effective in treating various muscle spasms, overactive muscle diseases and facial wrinkles.The ministry said Medytox used unauthorized ingredients and faked test results before submitting them to the agency to manufacture and sell Meditoxin in the local market.The investigation showed that the pharmaceutical company repe

Jun 18, 2020
Drug safety agency revokes permit for Medytox's botulinum toxin products

New virus cases at 3-week high, greater Seoul gripped by more cluster infections

A woman wearing a face mask walks near a banner showing precautions against the new coronavirus at an exhibition and convention center in Goyang, Korea, Friday, June 12, 2020. APSouth Korea's new virus cases rose by the most in three weeks Thursday, as cluster infections have continued to swell in the greater Seoul area and outside the capital.The country added 59 new cases, including 51 local infections, raising the total caseload to 12,257, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).It marked the highest daily tally since May 28, when the country reported 79 additional cases. The tally also marked a sharp rise from 43 reported the previous day.Of the locally transmitted cases, 39 were reported in the densely populated Seoul and nearby metropolitan areas. Seven cases were reported in Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul, spawning new concerns about mass infections outside the capital area.Adding to concerns, imported cases are also on the rise. Eight additional imported cases were newly identified, raising the total number of such cases to 1,379.The S

Jun 18, 2020
New virus cases at 3-week high, greater Seoul gripped by more cluster infections

Infection clusters show signs of spilling over into other regions

Citizens wait to go through coronavirus testing at a public health center in Daejeon, Wednesday, as there has been a spike in the number of COVID-19 patients there. / YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeAnother mass COVID-19 infection reported in Daejeon is putting the health authorities on high alert as it marks the first time the country has seen an infection cluster outside the capital region since May.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), Wednesday, at least 13 people living in the southern city have been confirmed infected with the coronavirus over the past three days. This is raising concerns over the possible spread of sporadic infection clusters that have continued to emerge in the densely populated capital, the nearby city of Incheon and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province, to other parts of the country. Among the 13 patients reported in Daejeon, 10 were linked to a multi-level marketing company, while three were traced to a local church. The authorities are staying vigilant over the possibility of additional patients emerging as many people are known to hav

Jun 17, 2020
Infection clusters show signs of spilling over into other regions

Engineering professor, doctor jointly develop robot for paraplegic

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) associate professor Kong Kyoung-chul, center, poses with Kim Byeong-wook, left, and Lee Joo-hyun who will compete in the Cybathlon 2020, an international exoskeleton race to be held in Zurich, Switzerland in September. Kim and Lee will wear the WalkON Suit 4, a motor-powered exoskeleton jointly developed by Kong and Severance Hospital doctor Rha Dong-wook for paraplegic patients. / Courtesy of KAISTBy Yi Whan-wooA Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) professor and a doctor at Severance Hospital of Yonsei University College of Medicine have jointly developed a new exoskeleton for people who have paraplegia.KAIST said Wednesday a team co-led by Kong Kyoung-chul, an associate professor at the school's department of mechanical engineering, and Rha Dong-wook, a professor at the hospital's Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, introduced the WalkON Suit 4 together earlier this week.The WalkON Suit 4 uses an algorithm to recognize what kind of movement the user wishes to make and helps them stand erect, walk,

Jun 17, 2020By Yi Whan-woo
Engineering professor, doctor jointly develop robot for paraplegic

New virus cases bounce back, another cluster looming outside Seoul

A visitor to Gangnam Public Health Center in Seoul takes an infection screening test for COVID-19, June 16. YonhapSouth Korea's new virus cases rebounded to over 40 on Wednesday, as cluster infections continued to linger in greater Seoul and imported cases spiked. More mass infections outside the greater Seoul area were also reported.The country added 43 new cases, including 31 local infections, raising the total caseload to 12,198, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).The tally marked a sharp rise from the 34 additional cases reported Tuesday.Of the locally transmitted cases, 25 were reported in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital, home to half of the country's population of 50 million. Five were also reported from Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul.Health authorities are on high alert as it was the first time for South Korea in more than a month to report a group infection case outside the greater Seoul area. The number of new imported cases came to 12, raising the total number of such infections to 1,371. It marked the fou

Jun 17, 2020
New virus cases bounce back, another cluster looming outside Seoul

Clinical trials of chloroquine for COVID-19 treatment halted in Seoul

In this file photo taken on May 20, 2020, a pharmacy tech holds a pill of Hydroxychloroquine at Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah. AFP-YonhapClinical trials in South Korea to evaluate the potential therapeutic efficacy of an anti-malaria drug, chloroquine, for the treatment of the novel coronavirus have been halted, hospital officials said Wednesday.Two major general hospitals in Seoul ― Asan Medical Center and Gangnam Severance Hospital ― have recently ceased their clinical study of using chloroquine for the treatment of certain hospitalized COVID-19 patients, they said.The move comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this week revoked the emergency-use authorization of chloroquine, citing potential health risks.In light of ongoing serious cardiac adverse events and other potential serious side effects, the known and potential benefits of chloroquine no longer outweigh the known and potential risks for the authorized use, according to the FDA. South Korea's drug safety watchdog, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, earlier approved clinical trials of chlor

Jun 17, 2020
Clinical trials of chloroquine for COVID-19 treatment halted in Seoul

Cluster infections show no sign of abating in capital area

A health worker carries out a coronavirus test on a citizen at a makeshift clinic at Gangnam public health center, Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe health authorities are struggling to cope with a possible resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic as there are no clear signs of it abating in the Seoul metropolitan area, despite the number of new daily infections staying below 40 for the third consecutive day, Tuesday.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), 34 new cases, including 21 local infections, were detected Monday, which raised the country's total to 12,155. The total death tally increased by one to 278.The daily new infections slightly decreased from the previous day, and most were local transmissions in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, the KCDC said.Among the 21 local cases, 11 were people living in Seoul, four were residents of Gyeonggi Province, two were from Incheon, and one was a resident of South Gyeongsang Province. The number of imported cases also surged to double-digit levels, at 13.The cases traced to a warehouse run by e-commerce lea

Jun 16, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Cluster infections show no sign of abating in capital area

Gov't to extend mask rationing to mid-July but up purchase limit

People wearing face masks wait to cross the road in Seoul, Thursday, June 11, 2020. APSouth Korea will extend a state-led mask rationing scheme, originally set to end this month, to mid-July, to help citizens easily buy protective masks to fight the new coronavirus outbreak, the country's drug safety agency said Tuesday.The government has decided to extend the scheme, supposed to end on June 30, to July 11 and review whether to further extend the scheme later after closely monitoring market situations. according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.As prices of protective masks skyrocketed amid the COVID-19 outbreak here, the country introduced the mask rationing system in early March in a bid to smooth out high demand. Under the scheme, citizens are allowed to buy a limited number of protective masks every week at pharmacies for 1,500 won (US$1.24). Starting Thursday, adults will be able to buy up to 10 masks per week from the current three pieces, according to the agency.Demand for masks sharply stabilized recently as the country has successfully flattened the virus curve, while

Jun 16, 2020
Gov't to extend mask rationing to mid-July but up purchase limit

New Zealand's COVID-19-free status ends with two new cases

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks during an interview with Reuters in Wellington, New Zealand, Dec. 11, 2019. ReutersNew Zealand said on Tuesday that it has two new cases of the coronavirus, both related to recent travel from the UK, ending a 24-day streak of no new infections in the country.New Zealand lifted all social and economic restrictions except border controls last week, after declaring it had no new or active cases of the coronavirus, one of the first countries in the world to return to pre-pandemic normality.However, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned that new cases may come up in the future as New Zealanders return home, and some others were allowed in under special conditions.The health ministry said the new cases were related to the border as a result of recent travel from the UK. Both cases are connected, it said in a statement.Further details were expected in a news conference later on Tuesday.New Zealand has so far had 22 deaths from the virus. (Reuters)

Jun 16, 2020
New Zealand's COVID-19-free status ends with two new cases
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