Ministry of Industry to Invest 274.3 Billion KRW in Bio R&D This Year, Up 16% YoY

Digital Transformation, Expansion of Future Convergence Technologies, and Response to Building a Global Vaccine Hub

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The government will invest 274.3 billion KRW in bio sector research and development (R&D) this year, a 16% increase compared to one year ago.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 24th that the 2022 bio sector R&D budget will be increased by 37.2 billion KRW (15.7%) from last year’s 237.1 billion KRW to support digital transformation, expansion of future convergence technologies, and establishment of a global vaccine hub.

This year’s projects will focus on ▲ digital transformation based on new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data ▲ maintaining the policy direction to develop and commercialize next-generation core bio technologies based on future convergence technologies ▲ development of pharmaceutical and medical device technologies at the commercialization stage through inter-ministerial collaboration ▲ establishment of a global vaccine hub ▲ and strengthening support to overcome social issues such as carbon neutrality.

Specifically, in the bio sector, 46.1 billion KRW will be invested in national new drug development, 31.7 billion KRW in customized diagnostic and therapeutic products, 6.8 billion KRW in vaccine raw materials and production advancement technology development, and 27.7 billion KRW in advanced bio-new material development. In the medical device sector, 61.2 billion KRW will be supported for pan-government full-cycle medical device R&D, 5.6 billion KRW for AI-based image analysis embedded in diagnostic medical devices, and 3.5 billion KRW for 5th generation (5G)-based mobile flexible medical platform technology development. Digital healthcare will receive 32.3 billion KRW, and 3.6 billion KRW will be invested in biomass-based carbon-neutral bioplastic product technology development.

Earlier, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the first round of new bio R&D project support targets (52 projects, 38.8 billion KRW scale). After review by project-specific committees, additional projects will be announced (18 projects, 7.5 billion KRW scale) to continuously secure growth momentum in the bio sector.

An online project briefing session related to this project will be held at 2 p.m. today.

An official from the ministry stated, "We will respond swiftly to changes in the bio paradigm such as pharmaceutical manufacturing innovation, carbon neutrality, non-face-to-face healthcare services, and non-drug digital therapeutics," adding, "We will continue policy support in the bio sector, including discovering R&D projects and building infrastructure, to increase market entry and commercialization potential."

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