Pharmaceutical Industry Proposes 'R&D Support for Securing Vaccine Sovereignty' Pledge to Presidential Candidates

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The pharmaceutical industry has requested that support for vaccine research and development (R&D) to prepare for new infectious disease pandemics be included in the presidential election pledges ahead of the 20th presidential election next year.

The Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association announced on the 1st that it held the "2021 Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association CEO Forum" at 5 p.m. on the 30th of last month at the Imperial Palace Seoul Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The forum was attended by more than 80 people, including the association's board members, representatives of pharmaceutical and bio companies, Heo Kyunghwa, CEO of the Korea Innovative Medicines Consortium (KIMCo), Kim Hwajong, head of the AI (Artificial Intelligence) New Drug Development Support Center, and Kim Ganglip, Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

At the forum, Chairman Won Heemok actively requested that each political party and presidential candidate include R&D support measures to realize a pharmaceutical and bio powerhouse from vaccine development to entry into the global market in their policy pledges.

Chairman Won emphasized that since pandemics may recur, it is necessary to secure vaccine sovereignty and carry out full-scale R&D to establish a global vaccine hub in preparation. He stated that in addition to fully supporting the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines and next-generation vaccine development platforms, it is necessary to create a vaccine bio fund to supplement the government's R&D investment scale and support the expansion of vaccine and raw material production facilities.

Furthermore, he mentioned that the self-sufficiency rate of active pharmaceutical ingredients should be raised and that costs for raw material development should be compensated through preferential drug pricing for medicines using domestic raw materials. He also argued that a reliable drug pricing compensation system for domestically developed innovative new drugs should be established to promote the development of domestic new drugs.

Chairman Won also stressed that the government's pharmaceutical and bio support projects need to be streamlined. As a measure for this, he proposed establishing a "Pharmaceutical Bio Innovation Committee" as a presidential control tower. This would build an integrated governance system capable of establishing mid- to long-term strategies related to the pharmaceutical and bio industry and coordinating policies across ministries.

Chairman Won said, "Establishing pharmaceutical sovereignty and realizing a pharmaceutical and bio powerhouse is a path that must be taken for health security and the national economy," adding, "Presidential candidates must firmly include the industry's proposals in their policy pledges."

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