New Chairman Yoon Sung-tae Appointed at Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Association: "Leading Public Health and National Economy through Realizing a Pharmaceutical Powerhouse"

Held 1st Board Meeting and Approved This Year's Business Plan and Budget
Confirmed 5 Major Strategies Including Strengthening 'Blockbuster New Drug Development'

On the 15th, Yoon Sung-tae, the newly appointed chairman of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association, took office at the inauguration and retirement ceremony held at the Pharmaceutical Hall in Seocho-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association has set this year's business goal as "Realizing a Pharmaceutical Powerhouse to Lead Public Health and the National Economy" and finalized five major strategies and 20 core tasks.

On the 15th, the association held its first board meeting online, approving the 2022 budget, business plans, last year's business performance, and settlement proposals.

This year's business plan includes five major strategies: ▲ Strengthening conditions for blockbuster new drug development ▲ Establishing vaccine and pharmaceutical sovereignty ▲ Enhancing international competitiveness of domestically developed and produced medicines ▲ Strengthening global expansion capabilities ▲ Supporting innovative industrial growth, along with 20 core tasks corresponding to these strategies.

Specifically, the association will focus all efforts on key tasks such as concentrating government research and development (R&D) investment on late-stage clinical trials (phases 2 and 3) to increase new drug development success rates, and creating a mega fund worth 5 trillion won to generate blockbusters. Additionally, it aims to foster an environment that promotes the development of infectious disease therapeutics and vaccines through public-private collaboration, increase self-sufficiency rates of essential medicines and vaccines, and strengthen the domestic production base for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). For APIs, the plan is to raise the self-sufficiency rate from 36.5% in 2020 to about 50% by 2030 through comprehensive, government-wide, and full-cycle support measures.

Furthermore, the association plans to strongly demand the establishment of a presidential control tower (tentatively named the Pharmaceutical Bio Innovation Committee) under the next government, which will be inaugurated after next month's presidential election, to oversee full-cycle and integrated support for the pharmaceutical bio industry. Also, to meet the increasing educational demands of pharmaceutical bio companies, it will establish an "Education and Research Center" to strengthen the association’s functions in job training and policy research.

Chairman Won Hee-mok said, "This year, with the inauguration of the next government and on the foundation of public-private cooperation, I hope the industry's capabilities will be further strengthened and momentum will be built to approach becoming a global pharmaceutical powerhouse." He added, "If the government's strategic nurturing and support back up our industry's efforts, we can accelerate the leap to becoming a global advanced industry."

At the chairman inauguration ceremony held after the board meeting, Yoon Sung-tae, CEO of Huons Global, was officially inaugurated as the new chairman. Chairman Yoon said, "The COVID-19 pandemic has reaffirmed the health security value of the pharmaceutical bio industry, and the tremendous economic effects from global pharmaceutical companies' vaccine and therapeutic developments remind us why our industry is a national industry and a future growth engine for the country." He added, "The association will do its best to support all member companies, including small, medium, and large enterprises, traditional pharmaceutical companies, bio companies, and early-stage bio ventures, so that no one is left behind and all can grow together."

Along with this, the vice-chairman group includes 14 members: ▲ Kim Woo-tae, President of Guju Pharmaceutical ▲ Yoon Jae-chun, Vice Chairman of Daewoong ▲ Baek Seung-ho, Chairman of Daewon Pharmaceutical ▲ Kwon Ki-beom, Chairman of Dongkook Pharmaceutical ▲ Kim Min-young, President of Dong-A ST ▲ Jang Doo-hyun, President of Boryung Pharmaceutical ▲ Son Ji-woong, President of LG Chem Life Sciences Division ▲ Cho Wook-je, President of Yuhan Corporation ▲ Yoon Woong-seop, Vice Chairman of Ildong Pharmaceutical ▲ Han Sung-kwon, President of JW Holdings ▲ Sung Seok-je, President of Jeil Pharmaceutical ▲ Kim Young-joo, President of Chong Kun Dang ▲ Heo Eun-cheol, President of GC Green Cross ▲ Kwon Se-chang, President of Hanmi Pharmaceutical. The board also approved the appointment of four full-time executives (registered directors): Vice Chairman Jang Byung-won, Executive Director Lee Jae-guk, and Managing Directors Jang Woo-soon and Eom Seung-in, as originally proposed.

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