"Bio·Healthcare Industry Doctors, Medical Scientists Expanding Medicine into Science"

Korean Medical and Bio Journalists Association Symposium
'Convergence of Clinical Physicians and the Bio Healthcare Industry'

"It seems inappropriate to say, 'Why would a doctor join a healthcare company?' The concept of a medical professional being part of a healthcare company is clearer."

Kang Sung-ji, CEO of Welt (left), is giving a presentation on the topic "Why Are Doctors Needed in Digital Healthcare Companies?" at the symposium "Convergence of Clinical Doctors and the Bio Healthcare Industry: A New Choice for the Future," held on the afternoon of the 14th at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Lee Myung-hwan]

Kang Sung-ji, CEO of Welt, made this remark during a symposium held on the afternoon of the 14th at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, where he presented on the topic, "Why Are Doctors Needed in Digital Healthcare Companies?" His statement implies that doctors, as medical scientists, can join bio and healthcare companies and lead the industry's development. Kang himself is a doctor who graduated from Yonsei University College of Medicine, worked at Samsung Electronics' wireless division, and then founded Welt. Welt developed the insomnia digital therapeutic device (DTx) "WELT-I," which received the second DTx product approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

The Korean Medical Bio Journalists Association hosted the symposium titled "Convergence of Clinical Doctors and the Bio Healthcare Industry: A New Choice for the Future" on the same day. The event was co-hosted by the Korea Bio Association and Mint Venture Partners, with sponsorship from the Korea Medical Device Industry Association. At the symposium, individuals who joined bio and healthcare companies after being doctors gave presentations. Along with CEO Kang, the keynote speakers included Bae Ji-soo, CEO of Genome & Company, and Kim Eun-kyung, Head of Clinical Medical Development at ABL Bio, all of whom are former doctors.

CEO Kang emphasized that doctors can play a role in "balancing" the digital healthcare industry. With their medical background and understanding of human anatomy, they can integrate digital technology and healthcare industries. Sharing his experience developing DTx, he said, "Digital healthcare is an integration of 'digital' and 'healthcare' both horizontally and vertically," adding, "As a doctor, I acted as an interpreter to weave together this horizontal and vertical integration."

Kang advised that doctors can join bio and healthcare companies as medical scientists. He defined a medical scientist as "someone who, rather than using a medical license to see patients, expands the field of medicine scientifically by introducing new means and methods," and "someone who broadens the existing medical domain based on scientific thinking and understanding of medical practice."

He concluded his presentation by emphasizing, "It would be great if prepared doctors could come to the industry as medical scientists and work more with us."

Before Kang, Bae Ji-soo, CEO of Genome & Company, presented on the topic "Doctors of Korea: March Beyond the Map," discussing the mindset doctors should have when joining bio and healthcare companies. Bae stressed, "You must think, 'I am not a doctor but a company employee.' You need to let go of the idea that you are a doctor," adding, "If you think there is a way back to being a doctor, the sense of urgency disappears."

The symposium also included a presentation on clinical trial work, one of the tasks doctors take on when joining bio companies. Kim Eun-kyung, Head of Clinical Medical Development at ABL Bio and a former pediatrician, introduced her motivation for joining clinical work at a bio company developing cancer-targeting new drugs and explained the clinical duties of doctors. Kim said, "I specialized in pediatric oncology and earned a degree because I wanted to cure pediatric cancer patients," adding, "The frustration and sadness of wondering if there was no way to help cancer patients led me here."

Kim explained that doctors are essential throughout all stages of clinical trials, a mandatory process in new drug development. She said, "Clinical trials are the core process of new drug development where information is created and decisions are made," and "Doctors must review two categories of information: the benefits given to patients and the risks inevitably caused."

Kim emphasized, "We work on how to bring new drug candidates, created as a result of science, into the medical field where doctors see patients," adding, "There is a lot to be done in any direction of clinical work, and there are doctors who do this work."

Meanwhile, the symposium was organized to discuss the convergence of clinical medicine and the bio healthcare industry. Given the reality in Korea where most doctors focus solely on clinical practice and issues of doctor workforce supply arise, the event highlighted the importance of diverse career opportunities for clinical doctors. Discussions were also held on ways clinical doctors can contribute to building an ecosystem between the bio healthcare industry and the medical community through career opportunities.

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