[Yoon Seok-yeol Elected] Pharmaceutical and Bio Industry "Need to Establish Mid- to Long-Term Strategy to Secure Pharmaceutical and Bio Sovereignty"

Creating an Environment for Corporate Challenges... Demanding Strategies Based on Broad Opinion Gathering

Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association building.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The domestic pharmaceutical and bio industry has called on President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol for active government support and the establishment of mid- to long-term strategies to foster the future bio industry.

The Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association stated in a commentary on the 10th, "The pharmaceutical and bio industry is the sector that most closely responds to the public's desire for a healthy and safe society and stable economic growth."

President-elect Yoon previously emphasized the pharmaceutical and bio industry as "a new path for establishing health security and creating national wealth," expressing his intention for active promotion and support. Specifically, he promised ▲ the establishment of a 'Pharmaceutical and Bio Innovation Committee' directly under the Prime Minister as a control tower to realize a strong pharmaceutical and bio nation ▲ the establishment of pharmaceutical and bio sovereignty through national R&D support to build vaccine sovereignty and a global hub ▲ the realization of 'new national economic growth and a strong pharmaceutical and bio nation' through nurturing core talents in the pharmaceutical and bio industry and creating an ecosystem for job creation.

The association emphasized, "Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, even as we enter the post-COVID era, establishing health security such as strengthening the supply chain of pharmaceuticals to prepare for new infectious diseases will be a major global challenge," adding, "For Korea to leap forward as a strong pharmaceutical and bio nation without falling behind, not only the industry's full-scale challenge but also bold government support are urgently needed."

The association further suggested, "It is essential to establish a control tower that can comprehensively formulate mid- to long-term strategies for the pharmaceutical and bio industry?including research and development, policy finance, tax support, regulatory improvement, and workforce training?and effectively coordinate policies across ministries," and "An environment must be created where companies can always take on challenges by ensuring definite rewards for technological innovations such as new drugs and expanding R&D support."

On the same day, the Korea Bio Association also issued a statement under the name of Chairman Ko Han-seung (CEO of Samsung Bioepis), requesting that expert opinions from the industry be actively incorporated into policy formulation and that efforts be made to ease regulations. They emphasized the need to present short- and long-term policy roadmaps for the bio industry through sufficient consultation and to draw long-term roadmaps reflecting the cycles and ecosystems of bio companies. They also stressed the necessity of applying negative regulation in line with the fast pace of technological development and advancement characteristic of the bio industry.

Furthermore, they urged efforts to reform systems to revitalize early-stage venture companies. Chairman Ko said, "Since initial funding is crucial for ventures, generous support and the establishment of an early investment ecosystem are necessary to activate investment," adding, "Please establish a framework for growth-oriented institutional reform so that early-stage bio ventures, which can be considered the future of Korea's bio industry, can grow with the government's generous institutional support."

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