Gyeongbuk Province Establishes Foundation for 'Medical Material Industry' in Gyeongsan City... Full-Scale Support for Companies Begins

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The photo shows a scene from a GLP experiment.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Jae-ho] Gyeongsangbuk-do announced on the 31st that it has completed the establishment of infrastructure for fostering the medical convergence materials industry in the Gyeongsan Knowledge Industry District and will actively engage in attracting companies as well as supporting technology commercialization, research and development, and GLP certification for local medical convergence materials companies.

According to Gyeongbuk Province, to foster the local medical convergence materials industry, a project called the 'Medical Textile Convergence Materials Activation Project' has been promoted for five years since 2016 with a budget of 39.4 billion KRW in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Gyeongsan City. As a result, the 'Medical Convergence Materials Practical Application Center' and 30 types of GLP equipment have been established in the Gyeongsan Knowledge Industry District.

Additionally, 24 testing and evaluation methods have been developed to support test analysis, domestic and international certification support such as FDA and CE, prototype development, and technology commercialization support. Currently, 35 corporate support projects are underway.

In particular, to support the safety and efficacy evaluation of medical materials, in February of this year, the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency was designated as a non-clinical testing institution (GLP) for acute toxicity and cytotoxicity tests.

GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) refers to non-clinical testing standards related to toxicity and efficacy evaluation experiments using laboratory animals in the preclinical stage of drug clinical trials.

By the end of the year, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the National Institute of Environmental Research, and the Rural Development Administration are also expected to be designated as non-clinical testing institutions for cytotoxicity, alternative animal toxicity, acute toxicity, and other tests.

Until now, there has been no MFDS GLP testing institution in the Yeongnam region to support medical companies, causing local companies to experience inconvenience by having to use GLP testing institutions in Gyeonggi-do and Osong areas.

The Medical Convergence Materials Practical Application Center, completed in September 2019, is equipped with a GLP research building, apartment-style factory buildings, and 30 types of equipment on a site of 16,528㎡. Twelve specialized researchers support the strengthening of competitiveness of medical materials companies, GLP testing, and technology development. In the future, support will extend not only to medical materials but also to non-clinical experiments for pharmaceuticals and chemical substances.

Jang Sang-gil, Director of the Science and Industry Bureau, stated, "We will focus our support capabilities so that local companies can concentrate on research and development and commercialization. We will continuously promote the nurturing of startup companies and attract companies from outside the region to actively revitalize the local economy through the medical materials industry."

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