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- 2026-07-03 08:28:50
- Company
- Companies are struggling with the form of post-COVID-19 work
- by Apr 20, 2022 06:06am
- As social distancing measures are lifted in two years, changes are also detected in the pharmaceutical industry. However, telecommuting is unlikely to disappear immediately. As more and more conferences attempt online and offline hybridization this year, they are also cautious about overseas business trips. ◆ Maintaining voluntary work for multinational companies, domestic companies are gradually ending telecommuting Since the 18th, all social distancing regulations, including restrictions on the number of private gatherings and business hours, have been lifted. In two years and one month, it has completely shifted to the stage of daily recovery. Telecommuting began in the pharmaceutical industry from early 2020 when COVID-19 began to spread. At that time, only a small number of multinational pharmaceutical companies introduced an autonomous work system that combines home and work. As the spread of COVID-19 spread across the country, domestic companies, led by multinational pharmaceutical companies, also implemented telecommuting. In particular, due to the frequent access to clinics, the pharmaceutical industry began working from home faster than the government. At the end of the distancing measures, many pharmaceutical companies that maintained telecommuting are in the mood to watch the trend more and decide rather than establishing new guidelines immediately. They say that it is too early to be relieved as more than 100,000 COVID-19 confirmed cases are still occurring a day. Multinational pharmaceutical companies that widely utilize telecommuting plan to maintain their current form of autonomous work even after the end of COVID-19. Korean subsidiaries of many multinational pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Roche, MSD, and Viatris, replied, "The guidelines recommending telecommuting will continue." An official from Viatris Korea said, "Since Omicron mutation became the dominant species, we have been working 100% autonomous for the safety of our employees." "With the government's lifting of social distancing, we will flexibly adjust our telecommuting and commuting two or three times a week in consultation with our manager," he said. An official from Amgen Korea said, "There were no separate guidelines for lifting telecommuting, and executives and employees who need to go to work at the office will continue to go out voluntarily." ◆ International Conference Online and Offline Due to COVID-19, most conferences and conferences have been converted online over the past two years. This year, many academic societies are still taking the form of a hybrid that maintains online or combines online and offline. The JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, which is considered the world's largest pharmaceutical bio investment event, maintained its online format in January. This is because omicron mutations are showing signs of re-proliferation around the world. The AACR held this month was held in person for the first time in three years, but the ASCO, scheduled for June, will be online and offline at the same time. In addition, a number of conferences, including EULAR, ADI Conference, and EHA, will be held both online and offline. Pharmaceutical companies are considering overseas business trips more because there are many conferences that take the form of a hybrid. An official from a multinational pharmaceutical company said, "We are looking at the data to be announced at the ASCO this year, and local participation has not been confirmed. However, as the academic societies also seem to be recovering from their daily lives, we will consider business trips later." Another multinational pharmaceutical company official also said, "We have not decided on an overseas business trip yet," adding, "It is expected to start face-to-face with overseas meetings that are essential." There are still concerns about new variations," he explained.
- Opinion
- [Reporter’s View] Patience is a virtue...for drugs?
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Apr 20, 2022 06:05am
- Price falls when supply increases. The same goes for the pharmaceutical market. Although the government can reduce fiscal spending by inducing competition between pharmaceutical companies, this would lead to a delay in NHI reimbursement listing. As we enter the era of high-priced drugs, the government has been exercising the ‘art of waiting.’ If new drugs of the same class apply for listing and the approval of its latecomer(s) is expected soon, it is not uncommon for the authorities to concurrently conduct reimbursement deliberations for the two, even three new drugs at once. The combination therapy using 'faslodex’ for breast cancer that was approved in 2019 was one example, and JAK inhibitors in atopic dermatitis and CGRP inhibitors in migraines are also being discussed in groups despite the different dates of their application submission. Due to the high price of the drugs, the government can let the market play its positive function and trigger pricing competition between the pharmaceutical companies. Fiscal savings through such measures under the NHI system can open up new opportunities as the savings can be used to improve coverage for the patients. But for drugs, time is of the essence. It would be optimal for all drugs of the same class to be approved and apply for listing at a similar period, but the reality isn’t so clear-cut. The application period often differs by 6 months to even 1 year at the most. Delays due to other factors can also play a role, but this difference in the ‘application submission period’ itself is also important. Also, the position of each pharmaceutical company may be sharply different. Companies that applied in advance desire independent evaluations as preoccupying the market by entering first is advantageous, apart from the price. Also, the clinical data issue remains. Even new drugs with the same mechanism of action can have different values depending on their indication and clinical results. The drugs' indications influence reimbursement standards and the value demonstrated by clinical data affects drug prices. Therefore, there is no real right answer to this issue. The government needs to well weigh the pros and cons. It’s not all about the numbers - the profits and losses – and the specificity of each drug needs to be considered. Therefore, all the stakeholders need to work together to reach a consensus on a rational solution that takes into account Korea's health insurance system and the ecosystem of Korea’s pharmaceutical industry.
- Company
- Homegrown Rosuzet·K-CAB sell over ₩10 bil a month
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Apr 20, 2022 06:05am
- New drugs developed by Korean pharmaceutical companies are showing strength in the prescription market. Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s Rosuzet and HK Inno. N’s K-CAB has recorded over ₩10 billion in monthly sales and made a good start. According to the market research institution UBIST on the 19th, the hyperlipidemia treatment Lipitor recorded No.1 in Q1 making ₩48.8 billion in outpatient prescriptions in Q1 this year. This is a 1.8% decrease from the same period of the previous year, but still a solid lead over the runner-up. Lipitor is Pfizer Korea’s dyslipidemia treatment that contains atorvastatin that was introduced to the Korean market in 1999. Despite the fierce competition with the entry of around 100 generics after patent expiry, the original Lipitor has been boasting its strong influence over the prescription drug market. Viatris, which was launched through the merger of Pfizer’s off-patent drug division Upjohn and Mylan, has been in charge of its sales since November 2020. The homegrown drugs, Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s Rosuzet and HK Inno. N’s K-CAB continued its strong growth. Rosuzet recorded No.2 in sales among all outpatient prescriptions with ₩32.7 billion. Rosuzet is a combination drug for hyperlipidemia that was released at the end of 2015. Rosuzet has been experiencing rapid growth thanks to its market preoccupation effect and the popularity of the statin and ezetimibe combinations K-CAB’s prescription performance in Q1 had also expanded 23.3% from the previous year to record ₩30.1 billion. K-CAB, which was released in March 2019, is a new P-CAB class antiulcer drug. It had first created a sensation selling ₩30.9 billion in the first year of its release and has exceeded ₩100 billion in annual sales last year, only three years since its release. Unless something major comes up, sales of Rosuzet and K-CAB will again easily exceed ₩100 billion this year. Among homegrown drugs, Daewoong Bio’s Gliatamin, Chong Kun Dang’s Chong Kun Dang Gliatirin, and LG Chem’s Zemimet have made the ranks in outpatient prescriptions. Sales of the brain function enhancer that contains choline alphoscerate such as Gliatamin and Chong Kun Dang Gliatirin recorded ₩26.5 billion and ₩23.6 billion in prescriptions in Q1 this year. Despite the difficulties, the class is facing due to controversy over its efficacy, reimbursement reductions, and order for negotiations to redeem paid reimbursement expenses, the drugs have shown off their continued strength in the market. Sales of Gliatamin fell 0.4% YoY but continued to be popular in the market. Chong Kun Dang Gliatirin’s sales rose 10.5% YoY and showed high growth. Prescriptions of LG Chem’s antidiabetic combo drug Zemimet rose 7.0% YoY to record ₩23 billion and rank No.8 in outpatient prescriptions in Q1 this year. Zemimet is a combination of the new DPP-4 inhibitor class Zemiglo (gemigliptin) that was developed by LG Chem and metformin. The performance of Plavix among off-patent drugs by multinational pharmaceutical companies has also been noticeable. Sanofi-Aventis’s antithrombotic drug Plavix has sold 11.5% more than the previous year to record ₩28.9 billion in prescriptions, ranking at No.4. In Korea, Plavix is sold in partnership with Dongwha Pharm since 2017.
- Product
- The KPA establishes an emergency TFT
- by Apr 20, 2022 06:05am
- As the presidential transition committee is expected to include the permission of non-face-to-face medical treatment in its national agenda and fully review the revision of the law, the KPA has begun to come up with measures. The Chairman Choi Kwang-hoon formed a TFT related to non-face-to-face treatment and convened his first meeting today (19th). Through TFT, the company plans to set up a mid- to long-term plan for non-face-to-face treatment. Chairman Choi had already expressed concern about the government's push for telemedicine earlier this month. "The problems caused by non-face-to-face treatment in the pharmacist society will disappear after the MOHW's notice of temporary non-face-to-face treatment is completed, but the new government's policy will not disappear. Chairman Choi said through Dailypharm on the 19th, "We planned a TFT to respond to non-face-to-face treatment, and we will have our first meeting today," adding, "The TFT name and mid- to long-term plans will be established here." First of all, the KPA has a conservative position on non-face-to-face treatment The KPA said, "We express strong regret over Yoon's attempt to legislate temporary non-face-to-face treatment, and urge him to actively abolish the current temporary non-face-to-face treatment permit notice. We urge experts to pay attention to the opinions of health care groups so that public health rights can be prioritized over industrial development, and we will take all measures to prevent acts that destroy the health care system." Front-line pharmacists also cannot understand the transition committee's non-face-to-face treatment innovation startup meeting. "We don't know how the KPA is responding with any will. However, it is not understandable that the Youth Communication TF of the Presidential Transition Committee will hold a meeting with private companies and solve this part due to job problems, it is something that the KPA should strongly block." Another executive of the Pharmaceutical Association also said, "In the end, dispensing pharmacies in the form of dispensing factories will be created nationwide. Discussions and countermeasures should be made at the medical organization level."
- Policy
- Expanding the use of Paxlovid with underlying dz over 12 yrs
- by Lee, Jeong-Hwan Apr 20, 2022 06:05am
- COVID PO Tx PaxlovidThe government said it is considering expanding the scope of the prescription for Paxlovid, an oral treatment for COVID-19, to "underlying patients aged 12 or older." However, considering the fact that there are side effects, it is said that various decision-making processes such as collecting opinions from experts should be carried out. This revealed the government's position on the presidential transition committee's announcement that it is considering expanding the prescription of the treatment to those with underlying diseases over the age of 12. Lee Sang-won, head of the epidemiological investigation and analysis team at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, explained at a regular briefing on the 19th, "Paxlovid, PO treatment, is undergoing clinical trials in other countries overseas and is reviewing data. I understand that there are no special abnormalities overseas regarding problems such as side effects," he said. "We are confirming that there are no problems such as securing supplies. We are currently considering expanding the target of the treatment from people aged 60 or older, immunocompromised, underlying patients in their 40s and 50s to underlying patients aged 12 or older, and expanding local clinics." Regarding the recent decline in the COVID-19 epidemic, the fatality rate does not fall below 0.1%, Lee said, "It is because the main class where the incidence of patients is decreasing is young and the age of 60 or older is decreasing, but the rate of decline is relatively slow compared to other age groups." Among the cumulative COVID-19 deaths, the proportion of the elderly aged 60 or older exceeds 95%, with most of the deaths occurring in the elderly aged 60 or older, which is a high-risk group.
- Product
- Non-face-to-face tx companies are appealing for regulations
- by Jung, Heung-Jun Apr 20, 2022 06:05am
- Non-face-to-face treatment companies are appealing for regulatory improvement ahead of the abolition of social distancing and easing the level of infectious diseases. Pharmacists are protesting that the reason for non-face-to-face is disappearing and that they should take steps to temporarily terminate the permit as scheduled. According to the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the 18th, the most frequent complaint among requests for improved regulations in the health and medical sectors was non-face-to-face treatment. In February, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy temporarily approved the "non-face-to-face treatment counseling service for overseas citizens" through regulatory sandbox deliberation. The two approved companies are Blue Ant and Gooddoc. Companies have urged regulations to improve for the continuous operation of non-face-to-face treatment services, which are limited to "temporary permission." An official from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said, "It is temporarily allowed, but there are many opinions to request improvement because it can be terminated if the infectious disease level is lowered," adding, "The MOHW does not have a regulatory sandbox, so there are many companies requesting non-face-to-face treatment." If the infectious disease level is adjusted from the existing first grade to the second grade, it is highly likely that the crisis alert will be lowered, which is a serious stage. Since the government has decided to operate non-face-to-face treatment only at the serious stage, it will be completely converted to face-to-face treatment at the end of the serious stage. The industry has insisted on continuous requests for improvement, but related discussions have not yet been made. Discussions between the government and stakeholders are expected to take place soon because they have announced guidelines for easing quarantine for the purpose of With COVID-19. There were many opinions that front-line pharmacists should stop non-face-to-face treatment by temporarily abolishing the notice of permission as scheduled, but some also suggested that non-face-to-face treatment will be maintained. Pharmacist A in Seoul said, "The medical community seems to have changed its attitude a lot. If non-face-to-face treatment is maintained as it is, it seems to be preparing with a focus on what authority to take," he said. He worried, "The more cumulative patients the more difficult it will be to prevent." Another pharmacist said, "The reason why we allowed it in the first place was because of concerns that the number of confirmed patients could increase while visiting clinics and pharmacies. Now, there is no reason to maintain it in a situation where confirmed patients go directly," he said.
- Company
- 1 in 3 don't know the right dose of antipyretic drugs
- by Apr 20, 2022 06:05am
- With COVID-19, 9 out of 10 consumers have purchased antipyretic drugs within the past six months, but one in three still does not know the appropriate dosage, indicating that appropriate medication guidance is needed. Johnson & Johnson Korea announced the results of a survey conducted on 1,000 consumers aged 20 to 49 in Korea on the 18th through Open Survey, a domestic research company. The survey was designed to find out whether consumers are aware of the right dosage and information, and what factors affect purchase frequency, purchase purpose, and purchase as the demand for home remedies, including antipyretic analgesics, increases due to COVID-19 home treatment. According to the survey results, 9 out of 10 consumers (90.5%) of consumers aged 20 to 49 had experience purchasing antipyretic drugs (including emergency medicines such as comprehensive cold medicines) within the past six months. More than half (57.6%) of them felt that the frequency of purchasing antipyretic painkillers increased this year when home treatment began in earnest. As for "Who is the most recently purchased antipyretic pain reliever (including OTC cold medicine) for?" more than half, 50.3%, said they purchased it for "the whole family." 31.7% of the respondents said they did not know the appropriate dosage of antipyretic analgesics they usually take. Young people tended not to purchase specific brands. Six out of 10 (61.9%) said they did not know whether the antipyretic drug brand they usually buy was an original or generic drug. In addition, 78.7% of the respondents said they considered the "effect" the most important thing when purchasing antipyretic drugs, followed by safety (49.2%), brand (33.5%), ease of purchase (20.7%), and price (16.5%). As a result of the survey on "What is the original drug antipyretic pain reliever you know", 89.8% chose "Tylenol". 58.6% of the respondents chose "intention" to buy original medicines for those who have purchased antipyretic drugs within the past six months. Among the reasons for thinking that way (multiple responses), "safety data accumulated as long as they were sold (72.7%)" and "confidence given by original" (70.4%) were the most common. In particular, 78.9% of them said that originality is more important when purchasing medicines than general foods. The intention to purchase the original medicine was especially evident from consumers aged 20 to 49 who said they had purchased antipyretic drugs. An official from Johnson & Johnson Korea said, "The antipyretic pain reliever such as comprehensive cold medicines, has become a must-have item in the home, with 90.5% of consumers aged 20 to 49 saying they have purchased within six months." He said, "It is encouraging that interest in proper dosage is increasing as the demand for antipyretic drugs increases, but one in three people still say they do not know the proper dosage, so we will continue to work hard to provide consumer information such as medication guidance." Source: Johnson & Johnson, Korea
- Company
- Hanmi leads the outpatient prescription market in Q1 2022
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Apr 19, 2022 05:53am
- Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s performance stood out in the outpatient prescription market with its solidified lead heralded by the introduction of its new combination drug. Daewon Pharmaceutical’s prescription volume has also soared vertically due to the boom in anti-inflammatory and cold medicines following a surge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Other major pharmaceutical companies also showed an increase in sales performance due to an increase in demand for COVID-19 symptom relief medications According to the pharmaceutical research institution UBIST on the 18th, Hanmi took the sole lead among pharmaceutical companies in Korea and abroad in outpatient prescriptions with ₩194.3 billion in Q1 this year. This is an 11.8% growth from the ₩173.89 billion in Q1 last year, and a ₩45.5 billion difference from the runner-up Chong Kun Dang. Also, this is an ₩80 billion difference with the No.3 Daewoong Pharmaceutical. Hanmi Pharmaceutical took this lead in the prescription drug market using its new combination drug. Prescriptions of Hanmi’s combination drug for hyperlipidemia, Rosuzet, increased 13.1% from Q1 of the previous year to record ₩32.7 billion. Rosuzet is a combination of ezetimibe and rosuvastatin that was released at the end of 2015. Rosuzet has made rapid growth every year since recording ₩24.3 billion in sales in 2016. Rosuzet has recorded a ₩10 billion range of prescriptions for 10 consecutive months since June last year. Hanmi’s leading new combination drug, the Amosartan family, has also shown continued growth. Hanmi has been selling its amlopidine and losartan combination Amosartan as well as Amosartan Plus, Amosartan Q, and Amosartan XQ. Amosartan Plus is a combination of three drugs, amlodipine, losartan, and chlorthalidone. Amosartan Q is a combination of Amosartan and the hyperlipidemia treatment rosuvastatin. Amosartan XQ is a combination of Amosartan, rosuvastatin, and ezetimibe that was released last year. Prescription sales of Amosartan, Amosartan Plus, Amosartan Q, and Amosartan XQ have increased 5.8% from the previous year to record ₩31.9 billion. Prescription performance of Amosartan rose 2.4% from the previous year to ₩21 billion, and Amosartan Plus rose 3.8% to ₩7 billion. Amosartan Q, Amosartan XQ also recorded ₩2.8 billion and ₩1.1 billion each. Sales of the antiulcer drug Esomezol rose 12.0% to ₩13.5 billion in Q1 this year. Prescription of Hanmi’s drugs that were used to relieve COVID-19 symptoms such as Clari, Suspen 8 hours, and Maxibupen has also increased greatly. Chong Kun Dang has ranked No.2 with prescriptions of ₩148.8 billion in Q1. However, its gap with the No.1 in the ranks had widened with its performance reduced by 4.7%. Daewoong Pharmaceutical has ranked No.3 with prescriptions of ₩114.1 billion, which was a 6.5% increase from the previous year. Prescriptions at major pharmaceutical companies have generally increased from Q1 last year. 15 of the 20 top companies have shown growth in prescriptions compared to the same period last year. In particular, Daewon Pharmaceutical's growth stood out among the companies. Daewon Pharmaceutical's outpatient prescription sales in the first quarter amounted to ₩83.8 billion, up 25.5% from the previous year. It surpassed the ₩82.8 billion recorded in Q4 2019 for the first time in 9 quarters and made a new record. The increased demand for anti-inflammatory and cold drugs due to the recent surge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients has led to this upward trend in prescriptions for Daewon Pharmaceutical. The anti-inflammatory analgesic Pelubi’s sales grew 22.0% from the previous year to record ₩9.5 billion in Q1. This is the largest record made since its release in 2007. Daewon’s original new drug Pelubi is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic used for osteoarthritis and back pain. The upsurge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased the demand for anti-inflammatory analgesics, increasing prescriptions of Pelubi as well. Prescriptions of Daewon’s cold medicine Codaewon have also increased greatly. Prescriptions of Codaewon S in Q1 this year were ₩6.4 billion, a 253.6% increase from the ₩1.8 billion recorded last year. Codaewon Forte’s sales have also increased twofold from the ₩2.9 billion last year to ₩5.6 billion in Q1 this year. Codaewon S is used to improve signs and symptoms of acute bronchitis and Codaewon Forte is indicated for coughs and sputum. Celltrion Pharm, Daewoong Bio, Hutecs, Boryung, and United Pharma Korea’s prescriptions have increased by over 10% in Q1 compared to the same period of the previous year. The surge in demand for COVID-19 symptom relief drugs such as cold drugs and anti-inflammatory analgesics are analyzed to have led to the improvement in prescription performance. On the other hand, the prescription volume of Chong Kun Dang, Viatris, Dong-A ST, Jeil Pharm, and Il Dong Pharmaceutical had decreased from the previous year.
- Company
- The prolonged slump in IPO of pharmaceutical bio
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Apr 19, 2022 05:52am
- Amid the prolonged sluggish trend in the IPO market in the pharmaceutical bio industry, attention is being paid to whether newly challenged companies will be able to draw a turnaround. According to the pharmaceutical industry on the 19th, there are two pharmaceutical bio companies that have been listed in the second quarter of this year, Wonteg and RP BIO. On top of that, Immunemed, Lunit, and Shaperon have proposed listing on KOSDAQ within the first half of the year. However, they have not yet been approved for a preliminary screening of the listing. RP BIO passed a preliminary review for listing on KOSDAQ on the 14th. It has been about four months since it filed a preliminary review in December last year. RP BIO is a manufacturer of soft capsule-type medicines and health functional foods. Its sales and operating profit last year were 114.9 billion won and 5.8 billion won. The largest shareholder is Yoon Jae-hoon, the second son of honorary chairman Yoon Young-hwan, founder of Daewoong Pharmaceutical. Prior to this, On the 31st of last month, Wonteg received approval for a preliminary review. It submitted a securities report on the 1st of this month. Wonteg is pushing for listing on KOSDAQ through a merger and acquisition of SPAC. Wonteg is a company that manufactures and sells laser and ultrasound medical devices related to skin beauty. On the 25th, Wonteg is raising the mood by announcing IR events related to listing. The pharmaceutical bio industry is paying attention to whether the two companies will be successful in IPO. Given that the IPO of pharmaceutical bio companies failed to make a hit in the first quarter, attention is growing on whether it will continue its sluggish trend in the second quarter or succeed in reversing the atmosphere. Three pharmaceutical bio companies listed this year are said to have failed to make a hit. Ad Biotech, which was listed in January, and Noul, which was listed in March, were decided to have a lower public offering price than Hope Band. BiofDNC, which was listed in February, has remained lower than the public offering price until recently after its stock price plunged on the first day of listing. As the pharmaceutical bio IPO market shrinks, more and more companies are giving up listing in the middle. In March, Boronoi submitted a report to the Financial Supervisory Service to withdraw its listing. Boronoi even received approval for listing, but temporarily suspended its listing plan as it failed to predict demand. KMRI, Finemedix, and FutureMedicine also voluntarily withdrew at the preliminary screening stage for listing. In the first half of last year alone, eight companies were newly and previously listed through corporate disclosure. Starting with PBPharma, Prestige Biologics, NeoImuneTech, Biodyne, SK Bioscience, HPO, GeneSystem, and ADM Korea debuted. Most of them were successful in box office. SK Bioscience succeeded in publicizing 1.4918 trillion won when it was listed on the securities market in March last year. Institutional investment conducted prior to listing recorded a competition ratio of 1275.47 to 1. In the subscription for general investors, more than 63 trillion won of evidence was collected. The industry believes that the sluggish IPO market has been affected by a combination of rising U.S. interest rates, the sluggish domestic stock market atmosphere due to the Ukrainian war, and weak investor sentiment in the bio industry. Another reason is that there are no large pharmaceutical bio companies that are about to be listed. This is in contrast to the consecutive listing of large pharmaceutical bio companies such as SK Biopharm two years ago and SD BioSensor, Inc·HK inno.N last year.
- Product
- Immunity products fare better “targeting the long COVID mkt
- by Apr 19, 2022 05:52am
- The OTC drug trend at pharmacies is changing. Compared to February and March when the Omicron variant had wielded power over the country and sales at pharmacies increased due to a surge in demand for antipyretic analgesics and sore throat treatments, etc., sales of products related to long-term effects of COVID-19 are now increasing due to more and more people complaining about COVID-19 aftereffects. Purchase and requests for general OTC drugs at pharmacies for coughs, chest pain, loss of appetite, fatigue, lethargy, and nutritional supplements have increased among patients who overcame COVID-19. Pharmacist A said, “With the COVID-19 wave subsiding, sales from prescriptions for confirmed patients and sales of OTC drugs have decreased significantly. The number of prescriptions for confirmed patients has drastically decreased to 1/5-1/6, and the number of customers purchasing related OTC drugs has also decreased significantly. These days, more and more patients visit pharmacies to buy drugs or consult about their COVID-19 aftereffects. The number of new confirmed cases has decreased to 47,743 on the 17th, with the number of patients treated at home falling under a million as of midnight on the 18th to 742,367. Pharmacist A said, “Since many patients complain about continued sore throat or coughs, OTD drugs such as Yonggaksan, Troche products, and herbal medicines are relatively popular.” An official from a pharmaceutical company that produces herbal medicines said, “Sales of our products surged in February and March due to COVID-19 sore throat symptoms and continue to stay strong in April. I think the interest in herbal medicine has increased due to the need for long-term intake.” Also, pharmacist A explained that inquiries and counseling on nutritional supplements or nutritional tonics also continue with some younger and many older people complaining of fatigue, lethargy, and sleep disorders, Pharmacist B said, just like some clinics and oriental clinics have recently increased focus on COVID-19 recovery treatments, there are differences in products recommended by age and various products ranging from nutritional tonics and arginine that can provide instant symptom recovery to comprehensive nutritional supplements that can be taken long-term are being sold at the pharmacy." B continued, “Since the aftereffects experienced by patients vary greatly, patients with more severe symptoms purchase more expensive products such as Gongjin-dans and Kyungo-gos. We have also been recommended health functional foods related to long COVID symptom relief to our customers.” Also, YouTube videos related to long COVID are recording more views recently. From instructions on taking high-dose vitamins to specific videos that recommend products directly purchased from overseas, lots of drugs and health functional foods are being presented as being good for COVID-19 after-effects in the media, and pharmacists voicing that “it is important to properly know about each drug for proper intake.” Pharmacist Ji-Hyan Lee recently said in YTN Radio's ‘Wise Radio Life’ corner, "Being infected with COVID-19 is like catching a big fire. Even if it is incinerated, fire residues and debris remain. You have to take care of yourself for at least 3 months, and above all, it is important not to overwork and pace yourself well.” Pharmacist C said, “Symptoms such as cough and phlegm can improve relatively quickly, but recovery from dizziness or lethargy can be slow or difficult. Therefore, it is important to raise your immunity on a daily basis, and manage your hygiene and immunity as well as tend to your lifestyle and dietary habits.”
