Ministry of SMEs and Startups Promotes Smart Factory Activation in 'Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices' Sector

Source=Ministry of SMEs and Startups

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 12th that it has signed a business agreement with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to promote the establishment of smart factories for small and venture enterprises in the 'food, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices sector.'

The signing ceremony was held at the Korea Food Safety Management Certification Institute located in Osong, Cheongju, Chungbuk, with Minister Park Young-sun of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Commissioner Lee Ui-kyung of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in attendance.

This agreement was prepared to activate the establishment of smart factories for small and venture enterprises in the food, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices sectors, to strengthen safety management, regulatory response capabilities, and global competitiveness, and to contribute to public safety.

A smart factory refers to an intelligent factory that links equipment within the factory with automated management solutions to collect, utilize, and control process data in real time.

Last December, the two ministries promoted cooperation in the food sector. They proactively introduced the 'Smart HACCP' system, which allows small and venture enterprises to focus on managing potential hazards that may occur throughout the entire process from raw materials to manufacturing, processing, cooking, and distribution through an automated monitoring management system.

Starting this year, to expand the establishment of Smart HACCP in small and venture enterprises in the food sector, they have prepared preferential measures such as financial support (targeting 60 companies until the budget is exhausted, with 30 companies supported as of the 8th of this month) and exemption from surprise evaluations for companies adopting Smart HACCP.

Through this business agreement, the two ministries will expand cooperation to the pharmaceuticals and medical devices sectors. They plan to help small and venture enterprises building smart factories improve productivity and quality of medical products, enhance global competitiveness by improving regulations on pharmaceuticals based on Quality by Design (QbD), and increase corporate trust.

They also plan to discover promising startups and venture companies in the fields of therapeutics, vaccine development, and advanced and innovative medical devices, support clinical design planning?which companies find challenging?and provide online investor briefing programs to connect with domestic and foreign investments.

The two ministries will hold regular consultative meetings to faithfully implement the cooperation contents, check progress, and discuss and promote related matters.

Minister Park Young-sun said, "Smart factories are a very effective way for small and venture enterprises to prepare for the digital economy accelerated by COVID-19 and the future after COVID-19," adding, "This mutual cooperation between the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will not only solidify South Korea’s image as a global model in responding to COVID-19 but also accelerate the great transition to the digital economy."

Commissioner Lee Ui-kyung said, "Small and venture enterprises that developed health masks and diagnostic kits played a tremendous role in overcoming the national crisis caused by COVID-19," and added, "Together with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, we will identify and improve regulations in the food, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices sectors to provide a foundation for small and venture enterprises to compete in the global market."

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