"If You Don't Collaborate, You Die... 'Open Innovation' in Pharma Bio Is Not an Option but a Necessity"

'2022 KPBMA Open Innovation Plaza'
Keynote Speech by Won Hee-mok, Chairman of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association
Introducing 'K-Space' Featuring Comprehensive Domestic New Drug Pipelines... "A Bridge for Collaboration"

Won Hee-mok, chairman of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association, is delivering the keynote speech at the '2022 KPBMA Open Innovation Plaza' held at the Chosun Hotel in Seoul on the 5th. Photo by Lee Gwan-ju

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] “‘Collaborate or die.’ Open innovation is not an option but a necessity in the pharmaceutical and bio industry.”

At the ‘2022 KPBMA Open Innovation Plaza’ hosted by the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association on the 5th, Chairman Won Hee-mok emphasized open innovation as essential for the survival of the domestic pharmaceutical and bio industry. He delivered a strong message that the survival of companies now depends on breaking down barriers and exchanging technology and information.

Chairman Won first pointed out the industry’s characteristic closed nature as an obstacle to open innovation. He said, “Sales are poor on a global scale, and the problem of mistrust among each other still prevails,” adding, “Globally, including big pharma companies, there is more information disclosure and collaboration happening, but we need to consider how much we are keeping up. Breaking the shell is necessary for scalable development.”

The Fourth Industrial Revolution era further highlights the importance of open innovation. Represented by convergence, hyperconnectivity, boundarylessness, and infinite expansion, the Fourth Industrial Revolution brings about the ‘autonomization of information.’ Chairman Won diagnosed the current reality faced by the pharmaceutical and bio industry, saying, “An era where information autonomously circulates has already arrived,” and “The boundaries between pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and medical technologies are beginning to collapse.”

In this situation, open innovation can create new opportunities. Chairman Won cited Yuhan Corporation’s domestic new drug No. 31, the non-small cell lung cancer treatment ‘Reclaza,’ as a representative case. Reclaza began in 2015 when Yuhan Corporation licensed technology from Oscotec and Genosco, and in 2018, it was licensed out to global big pharma Janssen, concluding a contract worth approximately 1.4 trillion KRW. Chairman Won said, “It is true that generic drugs are an important cash cow and core asset for domestic pharmaceutical companies, but they cannot sustain the industry alone,” and “This is why we must shed the closed shell and engage in open innovation.”

Chairman Won expressed the association’s intention to act as a bridge to help companies activate open innovation going forward. In particular, the ‘K-SPACE’ platform, which gathers domestic new drug development pipelines in one place, was introduced on this day. This platform encompasses 1,950 pipelines from 227 domestic pharmaceutical companies. Among them, 1,200 pipelines that have completed verification are currently listed on the platform.

The pipelines will be regularly updated and are expected to play a key role in building an open innovation ecosystem that leads from technology data accumulation to corporate partnering and technology commercialization. Along with this, various operational plans have been prepared, including ▲excellent pipeline selection contests ▲partnering promotion linked to technology value evaluation ▲proactive research and development (R&D) strategy establishment. Chairman Won introduced, “It will be an online window where you can review pipelines and communicate anytime if interested.”

Chairman Won did not hold back criticism of the current state of the domestic pharmaceutical industry and reiterated the necessity of open innovation to leap forward as a global pharmaceutical powerhouse. He said, “The ‘100-year-old’ pharmaceutical industry has been able to survive without new challenges, but this has caught us off guard,” and “Now, let’s openly share, give and take, and move forward together to create innovative new drugs as a global pharmaceutical powerhouse.” He added, “Pharmaceutical bio is itself a social enterprise and an industry with future growth engines,” emphasizing again, “Collaboration is not a choice but a necessity.”

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