Ulsan Launches 'Genome Service Industry'... Begins Demonstration of 'Genomic Regulatory Free Zone'

Establishment of Genetic and Medical Information Utilization System, Development of Disease-Specific Diagnostic Indicators

Expected Growth of Personalized Medical and Health Care Service Industry

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A project to build bio data and develop diagnostic indicators by disease and infectious disease diagnostic kits is expected to be promoted in Ulsan so that it is not hindered by regulations.

Ulsan City will officially launch the genome service project to establish a medical information system related to genetics.

Starting from the 4th, Ulsan City announced that it will begin a demonstration of the Ulsan Genome Service Industry Regulatory Free Zone.

The genome free zone demonstration aims to provide advanced genetic information analysis services and develop diagnostic kits for each disease by allowing limited use of genetic information, which was difficult to use under the Bioethics Act, to bio companies in the free zone.

So far, small and medium-sized enterprises needed high-quality large-scale bio data to provide life and health care (bio-health care) related services, but there were limitations in commercialization due to lack of information and regulatory restrictions on utilization.

Accordingly, Ulsan City plans to solve these problems through the genome service industry regulatory free zone demonstration.

The demonstration will be promoted through three detailed projects: “Demonstration of building and operating a bio data farm, a supercomputer that stores and rapidly analyzes large-scale bio big data,” “Demonstration of developing diagnostic markers by disease,” and “Demonstration of building an online platform system for infectious disease outbreak response.”

First, the “Bio Data Farm Construction and Operation Demonstration,” the first task, is a project to build a “Bio Data Farm” that can collect, analyze, and manage genetic and medical information-related bio big data and provide high-quality bio big data to companies and others.

The second task, “Demonstration of Developing Diagnostic Markers by Disease,” is to develop diagnostic markers that can precisely predict risk by disease (cardiovascular, depression, complex chronic diseases) using bio big data provided by the Bio Data Farm.

The third task, “Demonstration of Building an Online Platform System for Infectious Disease Outbreak Response,” is to build a precise analysis online platform system through data analysis of infectious disease patients and develop infectious disease diagnostic kits, vaccines, and candidate therapeutic substances.

Ulsan City expects that upon completion of the demonstration, not only new medical technologies such as personalized diagnosis and treatment will be developed, but also infectious disease response capabilities will be strengthened.

The city plans to prove the safety of the genome service industry through this demonstration project and promote regulatory law revisions based on the results.

Park Soon-cheol, Director of the Innovation Industry Bureau, said, “We will prove the commercialization potential of genomic information through this project,” and added, “We will closely cooperate with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to successfully complete the regulatory free zone and make Ulsan a bio-industry hub based on the genome.”

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