Yuhan wins FDA orphan drug tag for Gaucher disease candidate SEOUL, April 13 (AJP) - South Korean drugmaker Yuhan said its experimental Gaucher disease therapy YH35995 has received orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), unlocking a suite of regulatory and commercial incentives as the company pushes into rare disease treatment. The FDA's orphan drug program is designed to spur development of therapies targeting conditions affecting small patient populations with limited treatment options. Designated drugs April 13, 2026

Sookmyung University highlights human-centered AI research at global conferences SEOUL, April 13 (AJP) - The Empathic AI Women's Engineering Talent Training Team at Sookmyung Women's University in South Korea is presenting a series of research papers at major international computer science conferences. As part of the Brain Korea 21 program, the team is developing human-centered artificial intelligence designed to address social isolation and communication barriers. Professor Kim Byung-Gyu leads the multidisciplinary group, which conducts research on em April 13, 2026

S. Korean researchers develop smart OLED patch to accelerate wound healing speed SEOUL, April 13 (AJP) - A research team in South Korea has developed a wearable electronic patch that can speed up the skin wound-healing process by about 200 percent using organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), compared to conventional wound treatment methods. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) said Monday that a joint research group led by Professor Choi Kyung-cheol successfully created the self-regulating platform that uses light to control the relea April 13, 2026

KMU professor identifies gut-liver mechanism for diagnosing and treating fatty liver disease SEOUL, April 09 (AJP) - Professor Kwak Min-jin at Kookmin University's Department of Forest Biomaterials Engineering has identified how gut microbes and their secretions affect metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), the prominent university in Seoul said Thursday. The study, which introduces a high-precision diagnostic technology using extracellular vesicles (EVs), was published in the international journal Pharmacological Research. Fatty liver disease caused April 9, 2026

KAIST researchers and Nobel winner David Baker develop AI protein sensors for cortisol SEOUL, April 09 (AJP) - Researchers in South Korea have successfully used artificial intelligence to design proteins that can detect specific chemicals, including stress hormones, through a collaboration project between the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and 2024 Nobel laureate David Baker from the University of Washington, the prominent South Korean science institute said Thursday. The study demonstrates a way to create functional biosensors from scratch, a p April 9, 2026

S. Korea's KIMM urges rapid pivot as humanoid era dawns SEOUL, April 08 (AJP) - South Korea's Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM) said that 2026 marks the year humanoid robots cross into commercial viability, urging the nation to exploit its manufacturing prowess within a five-year window before the global pecking order hardens. In its 122nd policy report uploaded Wednesday, KIMM said the industry has entered a "commercial tipping point" — the moment where humanoids shed their laboratory origins and be April 8, 2026

KIST cracks long-elusive reaction mechanism in next-gen hydrogen fuel cells SEOUL, April 08 (AJP) - South Korean researchers have unraveled a reaction mechanism at the heart of next-generation hydrogen fuel cells that had eluded scientists for years, a breakthrough that could accelerate the development of cleaner and cheaper energy systems. A team led by Ji Ho-il at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) devised a new analytical protocol that pinpointed for the first time how oxygen reduction reactions unfold inside the cathodes of protonic ce April 8, 2026

Naver partners with EBS to build trusted knowledge video content SEOUL, April 07 (AJP) - Naver and the Korea Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly produce large-scale knowledge and educational video content, the companies said. Under the agreement, inked at Naver's headquarters on Tuesday in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, the two sides will co-produce content spanning health, finance and economics as well as material aligned with South Korea's elementary, middle and high school curricula. T April 7, 2026

Celltrion's Truxima becomes first South Korean biosimilar to claim top U.S. prescription share SEOUL, April 07 (AJP) - Celltrion's blood cancer treatment Truxima has become the first South Korean biosimilar to capture the largest prescription share in the United States, marking a milestone for the country's biopharmaceutical industry at a time when Washington is actively championing lower-cost alternatives to branded drugs. Truxima, a biosimilar of Roche's blockbuster Rituxan, secured a 35.8 percent share of U.S. prescriptions by volume in February, according to d April 7, 2026

KAIST's student team qualifies for global Mars rover finals in Utah SEOUL, April 03 (AJP) - A team of undergraduate students from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (in South Korea has reached the final stage of the world's largest Mars rover competition. This is the first time a team from the university has qualified for the final round of the international event that is designed to spotlight rovers capable of carrying out missions in environments that are similar to Mars. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Techno April 3, 2026