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Korea’s Home-Grown New Drug Approvals Hit Record High In 2021

Yuhan’s Leclaza, Hanmi’s Rolontis Among Nods

 
• By Jung Won Shin

South Korea had a milestone year in terms of domestic new drug approvals in 2021, with multiple major pharma firms gaining nods for their in-house developed products, including the country’s first COVID-19 therapeutic, from Celltrion.

drug development
Multiple Novel Drug Approvals From Major Korean Pharmas last year • Source: Alamy

South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) approved five home-grown new drugs in 2021, marking the highest ever number and a sharp turnaround from zero in 2020, as major domestic pharma firms’ efforts to shift their focus to innovative therapeutics began to pay off. The country also gave a nod to its first domestically-developed COVID-19 treatment. 

The numbers appear to reflect the more active pursuit of novel therapeutics through alliances and open innovation by major traditional...

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