"Pharmaceutical and Bio Industry Transformation... Let's Grow Together"

Yoon Sung-tae, Vice Chairman of Huons Global
Appointed Chairman of Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association
Establishment of 5 Trillion Won Mega Fund
Full Support for New Drug Development and More

Yoon Sung-tae, Vice Chairman of Huons Global, appointed as the new Chairman of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association.
[Photo by Huons Global]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] Yoon Sung-tae, Vice Chairman of Huons Global, has been inaugurated as the 15th chairman of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association.

At the inauguration ceremony held on the 15th at the Pharmaceutical Hall in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Chairman Yoon said, "The Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Association will support all member companies, including small and medium enterprises, mid-sized companies, large corporations, traditional pharmaceutical companies, bio companies, and early-stage bio ventures, so that no one is left out and everyone can grow together."

Chairman Yoon emphasized that the Korean pharmaceutical and bio industry is undergoing a period of great transformation. He stated, "The COVID-19 pandemic reaffirmed the health security value of the pharmaceutical and bio industry," adding, "The tremendous economic effects from global pharmaceutical companies' development of vaccines and therapeutics remind us why our industry is a national industry and a future growth engine for the country."

Chairman Yoon graduated from Hanyang University with a degree in Industrial Engineering. After working at Korea IBM, he joined Huons (formerly Kwangmyung Pharmaceutical) in 1992 following the wishes of his father, Chairman Yoon Myung-yong. After Chairman Yoon passed away from illness in 1997, Yoon Sung-tae took over the company management at the age of 34 and played a major role in leading Huons' rapid growth and establishing its position as a leading mid-sized pharmaceutical company in Korea.

With Chairman Yoon's inauguration, the Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Association held a board meeting and confirmed this year's business goal as "Realizing a Pharmaceutical Powerhouse to Lead National Health and the National Economy." Specifically, they presented five major strategies and 20 core tasks: ▲ 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 industrial innovation and growth.

The association decided to focus all efforts on key tasks such as concentrating government R&D investment on late-stage clinical trials (Phase 2 and 3) to improve new drug development success rates, and creating a mega fund worth 5 trillion KRW to generate blockbusters. They also plan to increase the self-sufficiency rate of essential medicines and vaccines and strengthen the foundation for domestic production of raw materials, aiming to raise the self-sufficiency rate of raw materials from 36.5% in 2020 to about 50% by 2030. Furthermore, they will strongly request the next government, to be launched after next month's presidential election, to establish a presidential control tower (tentatively named the Pharmaceutical Bio Innovation Committee) to oversee comprehensive and integrated support for the pharmaceutical and bio industry throughout its entire cycle.

Meanwhile, the association presented a plaque of appreciation to Cho Wook-je, President of Yuhan Corporation, for his contribution to promoting open innovation cooperation in the industry. Yuhan Corporation was recognized for actively supporting domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies' entry into the global market even during the COVID-19 pandemic by dispatching Kim Han-gon, head of the Global BD team, to the association's global team last year.

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