178 false or exaggerated cosmetics ads flagged ahead of Lunar New Year
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Tuesday it found 178 cases of false or exaggerated online advertising after inspecting ads for medical devices, cosmetics and quasi-drugs expected to see higher gift demand ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
For medical devices, the ministry flagged 100 ads tied to illegal overseas purchasing-agency sales involving medical magnetic field generators, personal low-frequency stimulators and electric cupping devices. In cosmetics, inspections of online ads for functional products marketed for whitening and wrinkle improvement, as well as products claiming to ease muscle pain, found the most common violation was advertising as if the products had drug-like efficacy (25 cases, 71%).
In checks of ads for gift-set items such as mouth fresheners, tooth whiteners and toothpaste, the ministry found 43 cases of false or exaggerated claims about efficacy or performance approved for quasi-drugs. The ministry said it asked the Korea Communications Standards Commission and online platforms including Naver, Coupang and 11st to block access to violating posts under relevant laws. It also requested on-site inspections by authorities for repeat offenders.
Dongkook Pharmaceutical applies for MFDS approval of DKB-138 as individually recognized functional ingredient
Dongkook Pharmaceutical said Tuesday it completed an application to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for individually recognized functional-ingredient status for DKB-138, a “hyunggae extract powder” it says may help improve muscle strength.
With muscle weakness among middle-aged and older adults drawing attention, the company said it is developing functional ingredients aimed at improving strength. After completing the recognition process, it aims to launch a product in 2027.
DKB-138 uses the flower stalk of hyunggae, a plant in the mint family. The company said a human study of 120 adults ages 50 to 70 confirmed both efficacy and safety. After taking 1 gram daily for 12 weeks, participants showed increases in grip strength and isokinetic thigh strength compared with a control group.
Dongkook Pharmaceutical also cited joint research with a team led by Kim Young Suk at the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, saying the work identified mechanisms including inhibiting muscle-cell death and protease activity and protecting skeletal muscle from oxidative stress. The findings were published in the SCIE-indexed journal ABCH (impact factor 2.7), and the company said another paper is scheduled for publication in May in the English-language journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Technology.
Celltrion’s Remsima tops 1 trillion won in annual sales for second straight year
Celltrion said Tuesday its autoimmune disease treatment Remsima (infliximab) posted global sales of about 1.0495 trillion won last year, topping 1 trillion won for a second consecutive year after 2024.
The company attributed the results to steady prescribing worldwide and expansion of Europe’s infliximab market, which it said grew about 9% a year on average from 2019 to 2024.
Celltrion said demand has risen since the COVID-19 pandemic for self-administered subcutaneous injections, boosting prescriptions of RemsimaSC. It said a “dual formulation” effect — switching from existing infliximab products to Remsima and then to RemsimaSC — also supported sales growth.
As of the third quarter of last year, Remsima’s share in Europe’s five major markets was 62% in the U.K., 49% in Spain and 48% in Germany, the company said. It also reported high shares in other European countries including Ireland (75%) and Austria (64%). Celltrion said it plans to roll out a newly added liquid formulation of Remsima across Europe this year. The liquid version shortens preparation time and reduces storage and handling burdens compared with the existing lyophilized formulation.
GCCL signs MOU with MICS on multinational clinical trial services
GCCL said Tuesday it signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday with Europe-based clinical trial and diagnostic services company MICS to cooperate on global, multinational clinical trial services.
The companies said the MOU sets up a cooperation framework spanning Europe, the United States and the Asia-Pacific region, aiming to improve operational stability by combining their regional trial-operations experience and customer communication capabilities.
The agreement includes cooperation on cross-regional trial operations and sample analysis; support for project management and coordinated customer communication by region; joint marketing; joint customer development and market expansion; and linking test items and improving analysis efficiency to strengthen service competitiveness.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.