The Korea Food and Drug Administration announced on the 5th that South Korea has approved Supect, a new drug for the treatment of leukemia. South Korea's Iyo Pharmaceuticals, which developed the drug, called it Asia's first leukemia treatment.

The Korea Food and Drug Administration said that the drug has been certified as a “secondary treatment drug” (which can be used as an alternative drug) and will be officially launched in the first half of 2012.

At present, the main drugs for the treatment of leukemia are imatinib, nilotinib, dasatinib, etc., which are introduced by major pharmaceutical companies in Europe and America. The main component of new drugs developed in Korea is similar to radotinib. One Ocean said that the price of new drugs is lower than similar drugs in Europe and the United States.

According to reports, some leukemia patients are resistant to the commonly used therapeutic drugs currently on the market, and the therapeutic effect is not satisfactory. The clinical trials conducted by the companies in South Korea, India, and Thailand have shown that the new drugs have a good effect on patients, so they have been certified as alternative drugs and can be marketed.

One foreign company said that in order to obtain further certification of "primary treatment drugs" (ie, the preferred therapeutic drugs), the company has started further clinical trials in more than 20 countries in South Korea, India, and the Philippines since August last year. The trial is still in progress.