Opening Export Channels through Fund and Workforce Support... Announcement of Biohealth Export Activation Strategy

The government is promoting the establishment of a large-scale fund for domestic pharmaceutical and bio new drug development, while actively supporting the creation and export of global new drugs through proactive workforce training to resolve labor shortages.

Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyoo-hong is speaking at the Emergency Economic Ministers' Meeting and Export Investment Measures Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 24th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 24th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it had unveiled the "Biohealth Industry Export Activation Strategy" at the Emergency Economic Ministers' Meeting and Export Investment Measures Meeting, jointly with related ministries. The announced strategy is based on an analysis of the export status of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and cosmetics industries before and after COVID-19, and concretizes this year's biohealth industry export activation strategy.

The biohealth industry has shown a high export growth rate of 13.2% over the past five years (2018?2022). In particular, during the COVID-19 pandemic period from 2019 to 2021, exports grew by 28.2%, driven by exports of in vitro diagnostic devices, establishing itself as a major promising export industry in Korea. However, as COVID-19 stabilizes, the special demand for in vitro diagnostic devices and disinfectants has disappeared, and export conditions have worsened due to global economic growth stagnation and strengthened regulations in various countries, leading to the need for national-level support measures, which prompted the formulation of this strategy.

First, in the pharmaceutical sector, the government plans to strengthen bio-pharmaceutical production capabilities and actively support global approval and market entry through national new drug development projects. Regarding production capacity, it aims to establish a K-Bio Vaccine Fund worth 1 trillion KRW by 2025 and to train up to 4,600 production personnel annually through the Korean-style National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (K-NIBRT), bio-pharmaceutical production specialized workforce training centers, and vaccine-specialized GMP practical training facilities to resolve the current industry-wide labor shortage. Additionally, the government will continue the national new drug development project, which started in 2021 and runs through 2030 with a budget of 2.2 trillion KRW, and support the approval and market launch of domestic innovative new drugs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and others through open innovation.

To expand sales channels, information on the public procurement market worth 5.4 billion USD (approximately 7 trillion KRW), including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations, will be provided, and networks will be established with the U.S. Healthcare Distribution Alliance, which accounts for 90% of the U.S. distribution market. For local linkage, support for residency at the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) in Boston, USA, will be expanded, and participation in pharmaceutical exhibitions such as BioUSA in the U.S. in June and the CPhI Worldwide pharmaceutical exhibition in Spain in October will be supported to discover partners, facilitate technology transactions, and promote product exports.

A researcher is deeply engaged in research at the laboratory of a domestic new drug development company. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

To activate medical device exports, the government will maintain growth momentum and support export expansion, including overseas approvals. It will support research and development (R&D) of various in vitro diagnostic devices for new infectious diseases beyond COVID-19, chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and severe diseases, and promote the 'In Vitro Diagnostic Global Demonstration Project' through overseas specimen acquisition. Furthermore, as major export countries such as Europe (CE-MDR, IVDR) and the U.S. (FDA) strengthen approval standards, the government will enhance full-cycle international certification support by operating the 'MED-TECH Export Support Council' and promote participation in major exhibitions and specialized medical conferences to pioneer overseas sales channels.

In the cosmetics sector, the government will respond to regulatory tightening in major markets such as China and support online marketing. Since China approves the safety of raw materials verified by safety evaluation agencies such as the U.S. CIR and the European SCCS without additional review, the government plans to apply this system to domestic safety evaluation agencies as well. Additionally, it will plan invitation events linked to domestic beauty exhibitions, fairs, and shopping weeks using 'Wanghong,' influential influencers leading patriotic consumption among the 20s and 30s generation in China, and provide video content production information.

Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare, stated, “The biohealth industry has ranked 7th in exports for three consecutive years (2020?2022) and is a future growth core industry expected to increase exports compared to last year despite the global economic downturn.” He added, “Although export conditions are expected to worsen due to the global economic slowdown, we will mobilize all government policy capabilities to ensure that the biohealth industry plays a leading role in expanding Korea’s export territory worldwide based on the competitiveness confirmed through COVID-19.”

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