ISSUE 9

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Dear Colleagues,

Hope your spring is going well. In this issue, we feature a round table interview of three physicians who have significant non-traditional interest in medicine. Medicine is part of the medical industrial complex that has surpassed the military industrial complex in terms of the GDP in the post Cold War era. It is a significant development and great news to know that an increased amount of resources and funds are being put into health and medicine instead of war.

A physician can have career opportunities in the many facets of medicine. We feature 3 Korean American physicians who have roles beyond the practice of medicine. Drs. Cho, Choi, and Yoon are highly successful, leveraging good physician traits of rigorous study and analysis on regulatory, legal and investment opportunities in medicine. For example, a physician has insight that a straightforward investor can never have, which gives the business of medicine a human touch and not just a ROI perspective. The opportunities in the business side of medicine are huge and translational not only scientifically but also financially. The investment in research and development for new or better therapies is commercially driven and thus there are great risks and rewards, but in the end the advances benefit all mankind.

The expert interview is of Dr. Joseph McMenamin, who like Dr. Choi, pursued a law degree and has had a long and distinguished career combining two very complex fields—the medical and legal field. Dr. McMenamin works the complex interface of medicine, business and government. Navigating the medical corporate legal environment takes special expertise and passion. This field is becoming even more complex with the international presence of medical companies as many Korean medical companies are expanding globally.

In February, a WKMO regional forum was held in Seoul that focused on health care in North Korea. Join us at the Annual Convention in Washington DC on June 9 -10 as we will have the historic opportunity to take part in the meeting of the Halls of US Congress (more information can be found on www.WKMOnet.org). Also at the convention, WKMO will honor the first Korean American physician graduate of George Washington University. I look forward to seeing you in D.C.

Yours,

David Y. Ko, MD

Publisher

President of WKMO

Keck School of Medicine of USC

FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

If you are a fan of Korean dramas, you most likely have heard of the television series “Descendants of the Sun” which has been sweeping the hearts of viewers all over Korea and receiving immense popularity across Asia. The 16-episode series stars Korea’s top stars such as Song Joong-ki, Song Hye-kyo, Kim Ji-won and Jin Goo. The plot is essentially a love story that develops between a surgeon and a special forces officer as they serve together in a fictional war zone. In the series, the character Yoon Myeong-Joo (portrayed by actress Kim Ji-Won) serves as an army doctor in the war zone. Many viewers are captivated by her skill sets as a physician and disciplined and strong character as a lieutenant.

Just as the character Yoon Myeong Joo is a physician who practices in the army, there are several physicians who extend their range of services and expertise beyond clinical practices. Though medicine requires a lot of time and dedication, perhaps over a decade of studying and training, there are multiple physician trained professionals who are involved beyond direct patient care.

For this edition’s Cover Story, the World Korean Medical Journal explored and interviewed three significant physicians who are actively engaged beyond clinical medicine. Dr. Charles Cho and Dr. Han Choi are investment experts and Dr. Doug Yoon is a science consultant. Their insight and experience will prompt readers to question their assumptions about physicians. Most doctors choose to dedicate their professional skills to the clinical fields while others deploy their talents in other ways that also contribute to the society. This edition’s cover story exhibits examples of alternative professions that require knowledge and experience pertaining to the medicine.

Also featured in this issue’s biopharmaceutical reports are the new trends and issues of the bio-health industry. The article from BioCentury examines the culture of publication in the bio-pharma research world. In particular, it emphasizes the ‘reproducibility’ of research publication. In another article, it discusses the price aspects of Samsung’s newly developing biosimilar products. The last article focuses on the Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell studies presented at the ASH meeting in Orlando.

Lastly, this edition’s journal contains two Special Reports. For the first report, our staff interviewed Joe McMenamin, MD, JD, who is a physician trained lawyer. The second report summarizes the events that occurred at the 5th New York Health Forum and the topics discussed.

Various writers and experts have shared their knowledge and insights as co-authors in this edition. I hope that our readers will find these exciting selections of articles to be helpful and inspiring. Enjoy the read!

Thank you.

DoHyun Cho, PhD

Editor in Chief

President & CEO of W Medical Strategy Group

Chairman of New York Health Forum