Transition Team, MFDS Work Report... "Promoting Commercialization of Domestic COVID-19 Therapeutics and Advancing as a Biohealth Powerhouse"

Imija, Secretary of the Social, Cultural, and Welfare Subcommittee of the Presidential Transition Committee, is answering reporters' questions after a briefing on the afternoon of the 28th at the Transition Committee press conference room in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. On the right is Baek Gyeongran, member of the Social, Cultural, and Welfare Subcommittee of the Transition Committee. Photo by Transition Committee Press Photographers.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] On the 28th, the Presidential Transition Committee received a briefing from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) and reviewed measures to leap forward as a biohealth powerhouse, including the development status of COVID-19 related therapeutics.

According to the Transition Committee, the members of the Social Welfare and Culture Subcommittee who received the MFDS briefing emphasized that providing safe food and ensuring treatment opportunities through the rapid commercialization of medical products based on advanced science and technology are key means to realize the public interest.

They also requested that during the safety and efficacy review stages of medical products, discussions with various experts and close collaboration with related ministries are necessary, and that proactive judgments and agile responses are required in crisis situations such as COVID-19. They stressed that active efforts are needed for the MFDS to develop into an advanced regulatory science institution and for Korean products to gain international competitiveness.

Furthermore, they asked the MFDS to make judgments from the public’s expectations and perspectives regarding the functionality of health functional foods, food labeling, medical foods, and integrated safety management of agricultural and marine products, and to actively respond to new risk factors that may arise from technological development and social changes, as well as to the policy demands of the industry.

On the same day, the Transition Committee and the MFDS reviewed the current supply status of cold medicines and self-diagnostic kits related to COVID-19, the development status of domestic therapeutics, measures to stabilize the supply of cold medicines, and ways to promote the commercialization of domestic therapeutic products.

In particular, they confirmed the importance of verifying the reliability and rapid commercialization of advanced science and technology-based medical products, which are core to the biohealth industry, and discussed the MFDS’s role in leaping forward as a biohealth powerhouse, including ▲ the proactive establishment of predictable review standards ▲ systematic support for the commercialization of advanced and innovative medical products ▲ nurturing talent with global-level regulatory response capabilities ▲ strengthening international cooperation to secure global competitiveness.

In addition, they exchanged opinions on the state’s role in timely supplying rare and essential medical products, which are difficult to supply due to lack of profitability, to patients in need, as well as on establishing a stable supply management system for public health crisis response medical products in preparation for the outbreak of new infectious diseases.

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