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- 2026-04-15 22:52:05
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- Who distributes Pfizer-Moderna vaccine in South Korea?
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Dec 17, 2020 06:12am
- Just as Pfizer has, Moderna is getting close to receive the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine. Currently, the South Korean government is in negotiation with two companies to supply their vaccines in the country. The attention is focused on how the vaccines would be manufactured and distributed as the government promised to ink the vaccine supply contract for 10 million people from each company. Ultimately, Pfizer’s vaccine would likely to be manufactured in the vaccine manufacturing facility in Belgium and exported to South Korea via Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea. The vaccine purchasing cost would be covered by the Korean government, but the import and distribution would be handled by Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea. Moderna, on the other hand, does not own its manufacturing facility or a South Korean branch. The rumor has it that a Korean company could sign a deal with the company to distribute the vaccine. ◆SK Bioscience to manufacture and distribute AstraZeneca vaccine The government has decided to import COVID-19 vaccine doses for total 44 million people. Out of the total, the finalized contract secured doses for 10 million people each via COVAX Facility and AstraZeneca. The government is in negotiation for the rest of the doses for 24 million people with Pfizer (10 million), Moderna (10 million) and Janssen (4 million). SK Bioscience is to manufacture and distribute AstraZeneca With the finalized contract, AstraZeneca’s vaccine would be manufactured and distributed by SK Bioscience. Previously, the Korean government, AstraZeneca and SK Bioscience have signed a three-way contract for the COVID-19 vaccine. The contract states SK Bioscience would manufacture the vaccine when AstraZeneca succeeds in developing one. AstraZeneca has no other vaccine line up other than the COVID-19 vaccine. The company has to seek after manufacturing facility around the world to manufacture the product, and SK Bioscience was selected in the end for the Asian region. The vaccines manufactured by the Korean-based company would be supplied to other countries in Asian region that also made deals with AstraZeneca. However, the biggest issue is that the multinational company’s vaccine has not completed the Phase III trial. The supply can initiate only when the vaccine finishes its Phase III trial. And after it confirms the efficacy and safety, the company needs to undergo a procedure starting from approval application to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) approval and the state authorization for shipping. AstraZeneca expects the vaccine would conclude the Phase III trial in early next year. The government’s announcement on the plan to begin the vaccination from March next year seems to have been influenced by the company’s news. ◆Inked a contract with CEPI, GC Pharma to supply through the Facility The vaccine doses for 10 million people contracted through COVAX Facility have not decided which product vaccine would be manufactured and supplied for how many doses. The COVAX Facility is an international cooperation project, created by the World Health Organization (WHO), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, to ensure fair distriution of COVID-19. So far, 180 countries have joined the effort. With the fund raised by the participating countries, COVAX Facility is currently funding nine vaccine developments, including the ones by Moderna, AstraZeneca, Novavax, Inovio, CureVac and GSK. From the list of the companies, Moderna has the vaccine within arm’s reach to commercialization. The U.S. FDA Advisory Committee is scheduled to convene a meeting on Dec. 17, and the emergency use authorization could be granted on Dec. 18 at earliest. The pharmaceutical companies that received the funding from COVAX Facility are responsible to supply vaccines to 180 member countries. When Moderna earns the FDA approval for the vaccine use, other COVAX member countries would also get access the vaccine. During the process, GC Pharma is getting the spotlight. GC Pharma has signed a contract with CEPI for the use of manufacturing facility in last October. When a company supported by CEPI successfully develops a COVID-19 vaccine, the Korean company can manufacture 500 million doses from its vaccine factory. The company already plans to manufacture CEPI-designated COVID-19 vaccines from March 2021 through May 2022. The company would use brings vaccine components to the factory to fill and finish the complete product. Some of these manufactured doses may be distributed throughout South Korea, but the government has not signed the contract completely, yet. If Moderna or other candidate company shakes hands with CEPI on manufacturing facility, GC Pharma would then sign an official contract with the companies. But as Moderna has not received the official green light, the detailed manufacturing volume has not even been set. ◆Pfizer vaccine for 10 million to be imported via Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea is most likely to supply Pfizer’s vaccine for 10 million people. Pfizer owns vaccine manufacturing plants in Michigan and Belgium. The plants in Michigan are to supply vaccines in the U.S., and the supplies for other countries including Europe would be manufactured in Belgium. Similar to the novel influenza breakout in 2009, Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea would import the supply manufactured in Belgium. Back then, the government signed a deal with Roche for the sales handling storage to distribution. As Pfizer is not funded by either COVAX Facility or CEPI, the company holds no responsibility to supply to any country without a contract. Currently, the Korean government is working on the settling the contract.
- Company
- Keytruda can be prescribed for TNBC patients in Korea
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Dec 17, 2020 06:11am
- It is expected to be able to prescribe Keytruda, an immune anticancer drug, to patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in Korea. According to related industries, MSD Korea recently submitted an application for additional indications for the combination of chemotherapy in the first line therapy of metastatic TNBC of PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda (Pembrolizumab) to the MFDS. After approval by the US FDA, the approval process is rapidly progressing in Korea. Keytruda's effectiveness in TNBC patients was demonstrated in the KEYNOTE-355 study. In this study, Keytruda showed improvement in Progression Free Survival (PFS) and an objective response rate of 53% (17% for complete, 36% for partial) in the entire patient group including patients with poor prognosis who recurred rapidly for more than 6 months, suggesting the possibility of cure in metastatic TNBC with a high rate of complete remission. Through a sub-analysis that confirmed the therapeutic effects of TNBC's combination of various chemotherapy and Keytruda at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, SABCS 2020 recently, the PFS improvement effect was shown regardless of the type of chemotherapy. It means that various combinations of chemotherapy such as Paclitaxel, Albumin-binding Paclitaxel, Gemcitabine·Carboplatin can be used in combination therapy with immuno-cancer drugs. TNBC, which responds negatively to all receptors (Estrogen, Progesterone, HER2) among breast cancer, has been an unsolved challenge for a long time. Chemotherapy was the only treatment option for TNBC, and Roche's target anticancer drug Avastin (Bevacizumab) was the first in Korea to obtain indications, but it has remained as non reimbursed drug. However, PARP (poly ADP ribose polymerase) inhibitor Lynparza (Olaparib) was added as a target anticancer option, and Roche's PD-L1 inhibitor Tecentriq (Atezolizumab) was the first to be introduced as an immune anticancer agent. Roche submitted an application for benefits in Korea in October and is waiting for the HIRA's Cancer Disease Review Committee's appointment.
- Policy
- “Despite vaccine delay, Phase III to complete in 2021"
- by Kim, Jung-Ju Dec 17, 2020 06:11am
- While Genexine’s South Korean-made COVID-19 vaccine trial is expected to get delayed due to change in candidate substance, the health authority reiterated their goal to complete a Phase III clinical trial for a Korean-made vaccine in the latter half of next year is unchanged. Also the official added the global vaccine supply for 1.2 billion doses announced by Pfizer includes the 20 million doses for 10 million people the Korean government has secured. At a regular COVID-19 briefing session convened on Dec. 15, Kwon Joon-wook, a deputy director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, explained of the current vaccine procurement status in the country and related prospective plan. The Central Disease Control Headquarters stated Genexine that stepped up to be seek a South Korean-made COVID-19 vaccine, plans to switch the candidate medicine in its investigational vaccine ‘GX-19’ as it failed to demonstrate a significant improvement in efficacy through Phase I data, compared to other vaccines developed in other countries. In other words, the company has to restart from the Phase I with a new candidate substance, which the delay can negatively affect the supply plan as well. Regarding the news, Deputy Director Kwon elaborated, “The Treatment and Vaccine Expert Committee is to discuss with each representatives from relevant pharmaceutical companies on Dec. 16. South Korea has two companies developing DNA vaccine platform and one synthetic platform developing company. But apparently, even a global company could not complete a Phase III trial or result in a successful outcome using those two platforms.” Unlike the investigational DNA vaccine platform in Korea, the vaccines in development by Pfizer and Moderna use mRNA platform and other companies are using vector vaccines so their development speed has been faster, according to the deputy director’s explanation. He added, “As South Korea has a shorter history of vaccine development and accumulated less experience, the companies are repeatedly undergoing trial and error. Only a few developers can actually reach Phase I or II by repeating the cycle of success, failure and evaluation. Regardless of the challenges, South Korea is to push on for the Phase III vaccine clinical trial by the second half of next year.” Also the official mentioned the Pfizer vaccine doses for 10 million people is included in the 1.2 billion doses Pfizer has announced of, as the doses for South Korea were already secured before the announcement. Deputy Director Kwon said, “Although the detailed supply schedule for South Korea has not been set as the contract is not legally finalized, but at least the doses for 10 million people are secured.” And on the presidential order to secure the additional doses, he noted, “The government is doing its best to import them at the right timing. And it is providing support on Korean-made vaccines to secure more vaccines from various sources.”
- Policy
- CSOs entrusted to companies are pursuing expenditure reports
- by Kim, Jung-Ju Dec 17, 2020 06:11am
- Amendments to the law will be promoted to mandate expenditure reports related to the provision of economic benefits, etc., submitted by entrusted CSOs to the government. Chun Sook Jung, a member of Democratic Party of Korea representatively proposed a partial amendment to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. According to the current law, drug suppliers are prohibited from providing financial benefits, such as money, goods, benefits, labor, entertainment, etc. to pharmacists, medical personnel, medical institution founders, and employees for the purpose of promoting sales. The CSO, a company that signs a contract with a pharmaceutical company to promote sales to medical personnel and medical institutions, is not being applied due to insufficient grounds for sanctions on providing economic benefits, which has been raised several times in the National Assembly. The main purpose of this revised bill is to prohibit the provision of economic benefits, etc. to those entrusted by drug suppliers to promote drug sales, and to mandate the submission of expenditure reports on the details of provisions such as economic benefits. She expected that the revised bill would contribute to maintaining the order of sales of medicines. In the proposal for this amendment, Min-gi Kim, Young-jin Kim, Yun-deok Kim, Jeong-ho Kim, Byeong-deok Min, Hong-geun Park, Hu-deok Yoon, Kyung-tae Jang, and Hye-young Choi participated in the proposal of the amendment. A similar bill came out earlier this month with respect to the amendment proposed by her. In the same party, Ko Young-In's representative proposal for a partial amendment to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and Medical Device Act included pharmaceutical companies and medical devices, as well as CSOs which were acting on behalf of them. In addition, the content of the expenditure report, which contains the details of providing economic benefits, is fully disclosed online, while the fines are significantly increased in case of violation. It contains the content of raising the fine from ₩2 million to ₩10 million or less, or one year or less in prison for violating the obligation to prepare an expense report.
- Company
- Pharmaceuticals' dilemma over the possibility of level 3
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Dec 17, 2020 06:11am
- While the government is considering level 3 of social distancing, the pharmaceutical industry is also taking countermeasures. Even if level 3 of social distancing are fully implemented, most of them maintain the flexible working system as they are now. However, internal discussions on the scope of essential manpower are in full swing in that it is an administrative order to work from home except for the mandatory manpower. ◆Executive order to work from home except for required manpower when upgrading to level 3 According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 14th, as of midnight on that day, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases was 718. It decreased by 312 from 1030 the previous day. The number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Korea exceeded 1,000 on the 13th as the third pandemic began in earnest. The government expects the number of confirmed cases to increase to 1200 in the future. The government recognizes the current situation as the biggest crisis since the outbreak of COVID-19. As a final method, level 3 is also being considered. Level 3 of social distancing is upgraded when the weekly average number of confirmed patients is 800-1000 or more. President Moon Jae-in said at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting urgently presided on the 13th, "If we can't break the spread now, we need to review level 3. If Central Disease Control Headquarters believes it is inevitable, then boldly decide to (upgrade)." The pharmaceutical industry is also tense in that an executive order is issued to allow private companies to work from home if the social distancing level is elevated. Looking at the government's step-by-step measures, in level 2.5, the recommendation to work from home for more than a third of the number of employees is reinforced to mandatory work from home outside of the required manpower. However, it is up to the company to decide how to set up the required manpower. The number of COVID-19 confirmed patients per day. With the recent surpassing 1,000, the possibility of level 3 is increasing (Source: Johns Hopkins) ◆Even now, only essential personnel are on the way to work The pharmaceutical industry is very nervous with government announcements. The whole society is in 'shutdown' situation. Officials on the front line are concentrating on preparing countermeasures while checking the government announcement in real time. However, they are contemplating what specific measures to take. Most pharmaceutical companies are already taking steps similar to level 3. Even now, when level 2.5 is being applied, the rest of the workforce is working from home, except for the required manpower, so there is little to do when the social distancing into three stages is upgraded. Accordingly, pharmaceutical companies are discussing the scope of mandatory manpower. If the required manpower was previously team leader and a few team members, when the social distancing is upgraded, it is reduced to only team leader. A representative of a domestic pharmaceutical company said, "The current company's official guidelines are Only essential personnel go to work, but in fact, the team is divided into two groups or three groups to go to work every other day. If it is upgraded to level 3, only the team leader goes to work. He expects the rest to go to work only in very urgent cases under the judgment of the team leader. Another domestic pharmaceutical company official said, "Before the implementation of level 2.5, we have been selectively working from home. Even if it is reinforced to level 3, it is not expected that the company will decide whether to go to work or stay at home according to the position or job group. Under the conditions, it is decided whether to work from home, but each team leader will select the required manpower based on a tighter standard." “We are preparing separate guidelines at the company. The overall direction is the same. We freely decide to go to work and home in consideration of personal circumstances and work environment. However, in case of upgrading to level 3, working from home is given priority.” If it is upgraded to level 3, most salespeople are expected to convert to telecommuting ◆Production workers are inevitable However, in the case of production workers, they are essential workers, so even if they are upgraded to level 3, it is impossible to work from home. another official from a domestic pharmaceutical company, said, "If the company is upgraded to level 3, all sales workers will be converted to telecommuting. Researchers will also participate in telecommuting, leaving only a small number of personnel." “In the case of production workers, it takes a month or two to restart even if the factory stops operating for one day. In the case of production workers, it will inevitably continue to work. However, measures such as changing from the current three shifts to two shifts are under discussion." Some say that even if it is upgraded to level 3, it will remain the same as the present. Mr. E, an official at a domestic pharmaceutical company, said, “It is already common to work from home. All sales workers are at home, and all employees in the rest of the field come to work. It is difficult to further reduce the required manpower.” Another domestic company official, Mr. F, said, "Officially, under the judgment of the manager, only essential personnel are instructed to go to work. However, almost all of the employees are present. Therefore, even if the level is raised to 3, the manager judges everyone as essential personnel. If so, nothing will change from now.”
- Company
- The CEOs of eight multinational companies were replaced
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Dec 16, 2020 02:08pm
- From the top left, CEOs of Oh Dong-wook, Kim Youn-hee, Choi Ho-jin, Kim So-eun, Kim Woo-gyu, Lee Hye-young, Kevin Peters, and Rob Kempton Eight multinational pharmaceutical companies have appointed new CEOs during this year On the 14th, Dailypharm collected the current status of CEOs of major multinational companies in Korea, including 31 Korea Global Pharmaceutical Industry Associations (KRPIA) (currently). As a result, 8 pharmaceutical companies replaced or appointed new CEOs. Although there were regular personnel executions due to the expiration of the term, there were also personnel measures due to separate issues such as merger and corporate division. The foreign head of the three pharmaceutical companies left. The KRPIA is represented by Dong-wook Oh, President of Pfizer Korea, instead of Avi BenShoshan, former CEO of MSD Korea. As of October, Galderma Korea appointed CEO Kim Youn-hee and changed the system to a Korean president again in about two years after Park Heung-beom resigned. Rene Wipperich, former CEO of Galderma Korea for two years from September 2018, moved to a Swiss subsidiary. Current status of CEOs of major multinational pharmaceutical companiesMerck, which has maintained a foreign system since the inauguration of the Korean subsidiary, appointed Kim Woo-gyu in September. He received his Ph.D from the University of Delaware in the United States and was appointed as a Korean subsidiary after serving as the head of the Performance Materials division at the German headquarters of the Merck Group in 1997. Ono Pharma Korea, which has been replaced in about a year, continues the Korean system by appointing former Vice President Choi Ho-jin as CEO along with the retirement of former CEO Min-yeol Yang. Ono Pharma Korea was managed by former CEO Takashi Kishi, who was appointed former CEO Yang. There is also news of the appointment of the head of a new corporation to be launched due to the division of the corporation. Viatris, which had been maintained under the name of Pfizer Upjohn, which was created through the corporate division of Pfizer, was officially launched and appointed Lee Hye-young as the first CEO. CEO Lee was in charge of Pfizer's patent expiration division. In the case of MSD, the official term of office began next year and was not reflected in the count, but Organon, which is spun off from MSD, was also appointed by Kim So-eun as the head of the first Korean subsidiary. Executive Director Kim will lead Organon from February next year. MSD and GSK's Korean subsidiaries continue to be foreign CEOs. MSD appoints Kevin Peters from a Thai subsidiary, and GSK's new president, Rob Kempton, takes over as Julien Samson moves to the headquarters. Mundipharma appointed Choi Heon and Astellas appointed Weber Markus as the new president. The proportion of Koreans among CEOs of multinational companies was 70%, a slight increase from the previous year (66%). In addition, the proportion of female CEOs fell 5% to 25%.
- Company
- Prevymis by MSD is prescribed at Big 5 General Hospitals
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Dec 16, 2020 06:14am
- Prevymis, which is used to prevent cytomegalovirus infection in patients with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, can be prescribed at general hospitals. According to related industries, Prevymis (Letermovir), a prophylactic treatment for cytomegalo virus (CMV) infection in patients with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, is known as Seoul National University Hospital, Sinchon Severance Hospital, Samsung Medical Center, Asan Medical Center, and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. It passed the drug commitee (DC) of the general hospitals. Prevymis has been listed since last October, being evaluated as clinically useful and cost-effective than conventional non-prevention cases. As prescription codes were created in major hospitals, Prevymis will be precribed in earnest in the future. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is essential for the cure of severe blood cancer patients such as acute myelogenous leukemia and acute lymphocytic leukemia. As a policy to strengthen health insurance coverage, the government changed the age limit for recognizing hematopoietic stem cell transplants in 2019 from under 65 years old to under 70 years old. Even if the tissue-appropriate antigens in the transplant's family are only partially matched, efforts have been made to revitalize transplantation and reduce costs by recognizing the first allograft as a benefit in the absence of a suitable donor. When cytomegalovirus (CMV) is reactivated in patients with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, diseases such as pneumonia, hepatitis, myocarditis, gastroenteritis, and encephalitis develop. Even low levels of CMV in the blood have an effect on increased mortality. In the case of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients with CMV infection, the mortality rate during initial hospitalization increased by 3.5 times compared to those without infection, and the risk of death was reported to be 2.6 times higher in patients with CMV viremia at the initial stage of transplantation (within 60 days). However, the current CMV treatment of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients relies on pre-emptive treatment of antiviral drugs when the virus concentration in the blood exceeds a certain level. Prevymis has been clinically proven to inhibit CMV reactivation and reduce mortality. In addition, no adverse reactions related to myelotoxicity and nephrotoxicity occurred. In the 2019 guidelines of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and the European Conference on Infections on Leukemia (ECIL), Prevymis is a prophylactic drug for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients with CMV seropositivity.
- Policy
- AZ vaccine is expected to be supplied in Korea the fastest
- by Kim, Jung-Ju Dec 16, 2020 06:14am
- With the spread of COVID-19 in Korea again growing, the quarantine authorities are negotiating on the premise of completing contracts for two products of the overseas COVID-19 vaccine within at least this month. Authorities predicted that the AstraZeneca product would be introduced to Korea the fastest. Jeong Eun-kyeong, head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters (the KCDA Commissioner) explained this through a regular briefing on 'COVID-19 Outbreaks in Korea' during the day on the 14th. According to the quarantine authorities, the fastest product in the current development schedule is antibody therapy. Currently, there are cases in which Phase II clinical trials have been completed, and the authorities explain that this data is being analyzed. This is because when the results of phase II clinical trial are submitted to the MFDS, it will follow 'Fast Track' to determine whether to approve use as quickly as possible. She said,"Antibody therapy is expected to be effective in preventing seriousness that leads to death by progressing to mild and severe stages. If administered to a high-risk group, which is particularly likely to become severe in the early stages, such acute severity or death. If it is administered to a high-risk group, which is particularly likely to become severe in the early stages, it will be effective in preventing such seriousness or death, and we continue to manage and support the development process." It is expected that more time will be required in the case of domestic vaccines, so the key is to secure overseas products. The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that it has already secured a vaccine for 44 million people, and that it has completed a purchase contract for COVAX Facility and AstraZeneca products. She said, “There are aspects that the speed of (purchasing) varies depending on the product, but we are discussing contract review with the goal of completing the contract for at least two products quickly and by the end of the year. In the case of possible vaccination in March, the fastest domestic introduction in Korea is being discussed. The product to be supplied is regarded as an AstraZeneca vaccine scheduled for domestic production." She added, "Of course, we are still negotiating the timing of supply for other vaccines."
- Opinion
- [Contribution]Which is the first among COVID tx & vaccine?
- by Kang, Shin-Kook Dec 16, 2020 06:14am
- As vaccination has begun in foreign countries and the approval of antibody treatments in Korea is imminent, the need to establish strategies for quarantine is urgently emerging. Will the vaccination aim for population immunity, or will it aim for the effect of preventing severe disease and preventing spread by administering early treatment along with early diagnosis? Seo Jeong-jin, Chairman of Celltrion, is proposing a method of early administration of the treatment based on the fact that the safety of the vaccine has not been secured. This argument is a matter that urgently needs to make decisions in our society. It seems necessary to compare the treatment and vaccination in terms of not only the health damage caused by the side effects of vaccination, but also the effect of preventing the spread of infectious diseases. In general, preventing infectious diseases as a treatment is ineffective, so vaccination is chosen without the need for comparison. However, it is necessary to consider it as an alternative to a vaccine, as Celltrion and others are developing the same as antibody formation, which is the target of a vaccine as an antibody treatment. In the early stages of COVID-19 infection, even before or after the explosive growth and release phase of the virus, the vaccine can be replaced with a therapeutic agent if it can be prevented by the administration of antibody therapy. If it is possible, outpatient treatment (or very short-term facility isolation) instead of hospitalization may be possible for asymptomatic patients, so self-treatment from administration of antibody therapy from early diagnosis can be used to replace vaccines. There is currently no basis for confirming such an effect. However, it will be very realistic if clinical data such as Celltrion are positively aggregated. Chairman Seo Jeong-jin said in an interview with YouTube that he has already finished producing antibody treatments for 100,000 Koreans. It seems to be sufficient considering that the number of confirmed patients currently in need of treatment is around 10,000. For the antibody treatment of 100,000 people, about 8 million tests are needed, considering that the cumulative COVID-19 positive rate is 1.2%. In this case, a cost of about ₩1.6 trillion is expected when the price of a diagnostic kit of about ₩20,000, specimen collection cost of about ₩160,000, and the treatment price of about ₩400,000 as announced by Chairman Seo. This is advantageous compared to the estimated vaccine administration cost of ₩1.3 trillion (AstraZeneca) and ₩2.5 trillion (Modena), taking into account the cost of vaccine and treatment to receive a vaccine for 25 million Koreans. However, the costs not included are uncertainties about the cost of adverse effects of the vaccine and the possibility of failure or delay in quarantine of the antibody therapy. Such a judgment will be possible only when the clinical results of antibody therapeutics and the ability to block transmission are revealed. However, if very promising results come out, new test guidelines and behavioral guidelines for early preemptive testing and outpatient treatment for COVID-19 must be prepared urgently in response to them. It would be said that prompt and flexible policy responses from government authorities are required.
- Product
- “The lower the income, the later the cancer diagnosis”
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Dec 16, 2020 06:13am
- A survey found a clear correlation between the income level and the level of tumor development and metastasis when a patient with cancer is diagnosed. A not-for-profit organization advocating the improvement in inefficiency in cancer treatment environment, ‘All.Can Korea’ kicked off on Dec. 10 and disclosed a survey result on 495 cancer patients. All.Can Korea said the objective of the survey was to explore inefficiency a cancer patient in South Korea experiences during their treatment, and to seek detailed solution for the patient-centered cancer treatment environment. The survey was conducted with cancer patient organizations via an online platform, and the questionnaires were categorized into four areas—cancer diagnosis, cancer treatment, post-treatment management, and exposure to cancer treatment information and financial impact. The lower the income, the later the patient finds out about the cancer As a result, the majority of patients said they had ‘first discovered the cancer, when they detected the symptoms.’ The majority of the respondents (38.1 percent) answered they were diagnosed with cancer after experiencing detectable symptoms, even for the six major cancer types (stomach, colon, liver, breast, ovarian and lung cancers) examined by the national health check up program. And the phenomenon was more apparent when the monthly household income was lower. Also the level of tumor development and metastasis differed vastly depending on the cancer patient’s monthly income level. 35.5 percent of the respondents were earning less than 3 million won a month when diagnosed at stage I, whereas 57.8 percent of patients earning more than 6 million won a month were diagnosed at the initial stage. So the higher the income, the earlier the patients discover about the cancer. Comparatively more patients with lower monthly income were diagnosed at stage IV. And 18.2 percent of the respondents with income less than 3 million won had their tumor already metastasized at the point of initial diagnosis, which doubled the rate of respondents making over 6 million won at the 8.4 percent. Cancer patients do not see the need to manage their mental health Regardless of their mental distress during diagnosis and treatment, the patients seemed to be unaware of the necessity of mental support due to the imminent financial complications they face in daily life. The top two factors the respondents answered they were most concerned about when diagnosed with cancer were ‘the fear of possible death (36.8 percent)’ and ‘concerns for the family (36.8 percent).’ They picked ‘financial aid for expensive non-reimbursed examination cost’ as the most wanted improvement (48.3 percent). The difficulties during cancer treatment showed more than 20 percent point differences ranging from 46.5 percent of answering ‘physical pain’ to 45.5 percent ‘mental distress,’ 41.3 percent ‘faltering mental state,’ 26.9 percent ‘financial complications’ and 21.5 percent ‘burden of treatment cost.’ But the most sought after answer to solve the difficulties was ‘financial support for treatment and sharing information related to the system’ with 24.5 percent. However, a patient’s mental health is a crucial factor that also affects the cancer treatment outcome. Accordingly, other countries even include counseling sessions in the cancer treatment process starting from the diagnosis, but South Korea has not implemented such multidisciplinary treatment and the patients even have negative perception on psychological therapy. Representing All.Can Korea, Choi Sung-chul said, “The survey holds an integral meaning as it has confirmed the inefficiency the patients experience during the entire cancer management process starting from diagnosis through post-treatment phase. All.Can Korea is to create a patient-centered efficient cancer treatment environment by focusing on the most important parts that help the patients to fight against cancer.”
