| The Natural Products team develops drugs using single components derived from a specified crude drug or its concentrated extract through research on natural products such as medicinal plants. The Processes for the development of natural product drugs are as follows: |
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| The process is one of selecting drug candidates that can have a significant impact on target symptoms. Optimal drug candidates are selected from existing books on oriental medicines (there are 13 books on oriental medicines authorized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare such as Dongeuibogam or Bangyakhappyun), ethnopharmacologists in the world, domestic and foreign journals on medicines and drugs, various folk remedies or from databases on Chinese medicines developed internally. |
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| Optimal preparations, fractions or single components are searched by testing physiological activity necessary for target symptoms through in vivo or in vitro bioassay on the extracts of carefully selected drug candidates. The possibility of a new drug is indirectly confirmed by comparing and testing efficacy and safety with existing drugs. |
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| This is the process of performing specification studies, establishing a production process and conducting standard studies on a final developed single component of concentrated drug extracts. |
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| This is the step that tests the efficacy and safety of final specified and standardized concentrated drug extracts or a single component in various ways and confirms a preparation stability of the drug manufactured in a form suitable for body injection. |
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| This is the step that determines safety, optimal injection method and dose through a direct body injection and proves the efficacy on a corresponding symptom through scientific and objective testing.The above series of processes for new drugs are performed not only by the Natural Products Team but also by other teams in the Life Science Research Center.The main projects of the Natural Products Team are selection of the drug candidates, preparation, specification and standardization. Especially, for specification and standardization, the correct examination on active components is inevitable and diverse research activities are performed for material separations including bioactivities-guided fractionation and structure determinations.The natural product drugs have infinite possibilities for development considering the active studies on ethnopharmacology of each nation and alternative medicines because of recent indications of the limits of existing synthetic drugs in some fields. SK Chemicals has conjoined Oriental medicine, the efficacy of which has been proven throughout thousands of years, with Western medicine based on scientific and well reasoned thought. It is doing its best to develop new concept drugs aiming at causal treatment instead of symptomatic therapy. |
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| The Natural Product team has implemented drug development starting from GinexinO, a peripheral circulation remedy made in 1991 after research on gingko leaves, to research on functional health foods such as ginseng and garlic. Recently, remedies for asthma and arthritis have been developed. The third level clinical test, the last step of drug development, is in progress with cooperation from prestigious hospitals in Korea such as Seoul National University Hospital. Also, development of natural drugs for sclerosis of the arteries and irritable bowl syndrome is in progress with cooperation with domestic and foreign research institutes. |
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Point of Contact : Chang-Kyun Han (Tel : 82-31-240-8445)
E-mail : ckhan@skchemicals.com |
