Drugs and Medicinal Substances

Kumdang-2

Nervous System Agents

Kumdang-2, whose name translates to golden sugar in Korean, is a North Korean injectable medication produced by the Pugang Pharmaceutical Company and developed around 1996. North Korean sources describe it as a ginseng-based formula also containing small amounts of shungite and trace gold and platinum, and state media has claimed it treats conditions including AIDS, Ebola, MERS, herpes, tuberculosis, cancer, morning sickness and harm from computer use. It was promoted internationally during the 2006 and 2013 bird flu outbreaks. A South Korean National Forensic Service analysis found the product to be mostly composed of the anaesthetic procaine, contradicting the manufacturer's stated ingredients and undermining its claimed effects. Its actual pharmacological action documented by outside analysis is that of a procaine-based local anaesthetic rather than the broad remedy North Korea describes.

Facts

Open Questions

Drug Class

Claimed vaccine made from ginseng extracts; unverified 3

North Korean state news agency KCNA called it a vaccine made from ginseng extract, but no independent verification was provided, so the class is a claim only.

Mechanism of Action

Claimed by North Korean state media to act as a strong immune reviver; unverified 4

North Korean state media described the drug as a strong immune reviver, but the report says the state provided no proof, so the mechanism is a claim and not an established pharmacological action.

Approved Use

Claimed by North Korean state media to prevent and cure MERS, Ebola, SARS and AIDS; unverified 4

North Korean state media claims it prevents and cures MERS, Ebola, SARS and AIDS, but the report states no proof was provided and no regulatory approval was found, so the claimed use is unverified.

Partially Attested

Source

Plant 2

Described by news reports of North Korean state media and the maker's website as made from ginseng extracts; no independent analysis of the product was found.

Classification

ATC Classthe subject's own account

N: Nervous System 1

Sources

1. Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System (Wikipedia)

WikipediaFirst-level anatomical group codes, Code N

Quote, First-level anatomical group codes, Code N

Nervous system

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2. North Korea claims it can cure MERS (and a whole bunch of other things) (SBS)

Report on Kumdang-2 ingredients

Quote, Report on Kumdang-2 ingredients

a vaccine made from extracts from ginseng grown in rare earth elements

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3. North Korea Claims to Have Discovered Miracle Drug, Cure for MERS (Newsweek, 2015)

Body, claimed uses
highly effective in preventing and curing the MERS virus and other contagious diseases
Body, developer and ingredients
scientists had developed the vaccine, known as Kumdang-2

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4. North Korea claims it has cure for MERS, Ebola and AIDS (Global News, 2015)