1st Medicine Developed in Korea

An antibiotic called 'LB20304a' made by LG Chemicals is predicted to be the first drug developed in Korea. LG started clinical tests for this product in both Europe and the U.S.
LG explained that this antibiotic is very effective against drug-resistant bacteria and can be used by pregnant women and even children. LG announced that it finished the 2nd round of clinical test on hundreds of patients in April 1998 and started 3rd round testing under approval of European countries and the US.
The 3rd clinical trials will demonstrate its safety and effectiveness. LG claimed that this is the first time that a Korean-made drug has come to this phase of testing. LG predicted that it can start mass production in 2000. LG plans to invest 50 billion won to construct a factory and produce the total quantity from inside Korea. A source at LG said, 'The market scale of this antibiotic is four billion dollars and the German Bayer-made drug has a 38% market share.'