Won Hee-mok, Chairman of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association, "We Will Achieve Concrete Results in Open Innovation This Year"

New Year's Press Conference "When the Industry Begins to Move in Earnest"
Calls for Active Government Role... Expansion of R&D Funding, etc.

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Won Hee-mok, chairman of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association, emphasized on the 15th, "This year, we will put everything into open innovation," adding, "It is time for the industry to move actively in step with the growing recognition of the pharmaceutical industry as a new growth engine."

At a New Year press briefing held on the 15th at the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association in Bangbae-dong, Seoul, Chairman Won stated, "We will make it our top priority to produce concrete results through comprehensive innovation." He added, "The sense of crisis in the field that 'if we do not change, we cannot survive' will lead to practical actions for innovation," and said, "We will lay the groundwork for open innovation so that companies can take the lead and actively participate."

The association set its goals for this year as ▲ securing global expansion bases ▲ building an innovation ecosystem ▲ improving drug quality ▲ full-scale operation of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) New Drug Development Support Center ▲ establishment of professional workforce training institutions ▲ establishment of ethical management ▲ hosting industry-academia-government job fairs ▲ and promoting openness and innovation within the association.

They also urged regulatory innovation by the government. Chairman Won said, "We expect an active role to ensure that the industry's challenges lead to success," and requested, "Please remove the walls that block change and the frameworks of incorrect practices." He emphasized that for the industry's management innovation to succeed, strong government support policies must harmonize with industry efforts.

In particular, he stressed the need to significantly increase research and development (R&D) support funds. Specifically, he raised his voice that the government's investment ratio in the annual 2.7 trillion won scale of public-private R&D investment funds should be raised from the current 9.1% to over 20%, the level of Japan. Furthermore, he stated that a rational insurance drug management system should be established to practically achieve the goal of drug cost efficiency, moving away from price control policies focused on drug price reductions.

Chairman Won said, "The industry will break away from long-standing practices and implement open innovation across all fields including research, development, and production," adding, "We will seek global expansion through various models to overcome the limitations of the domestic industry." He continued, "We will grow into a core industry of Korea through more aggressive investment," and said, "It is time to build an innovation ecosystem led by the private sector including industry, academia, research institutes, and hospitals, with all stakeholders such as the government, local governments, and public institutions working together."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.