Invest KOREA

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MW) announced the first five-year plan to foster and support the pharmaceutical industry on Sunday. The Korean government will establish a fund of KRW 500 billion by 2017 to foster a global pharmaceutical industry.

The plan aims to increase overseas exports of new medicine and new products, which are to serve as a new growth engine, as a first step toward Korea’s development as the world’s 7th largest pharmaceutical powerhouse by 2020.

To achieve this goal, reach pharmaceutical exports of KRW 11 trillion and develop four new medicines, the government has come up with five core initiatives: 1) To achieve open innovation with enhanced research and development (R&D), 2) To integrate pharmaceuticals with finance, 3) To foster specialized talents, 4) To provide strategic export support and 5) To establish advanced infrastructure.

As part of its plan to establish a KRW 500 billion fund by 2017 to support pharmaceutical R&D and nurture in Korea a global pharmaceutical industry, the Korean government will provide seed money of KRW 20 billion to start a KRW 100 billion fund this year.

Academia-industry-government cooperation will focus on R&D in promising fields, including bio-similars and stem cell treatments.

The five-year plan also aims to foster a pharmaceutical labor force of 10,000 specialists, and the Korean government will promote graduate schools, overseas training and a national certification system for related techniques.

An MW official noted that the Korean government will review each initiative in detail to ensure the plan is implemented, and stressed that private companies should also invest in developing new products and penetrating foreign markets through corporate innovation.

The ministry will formulate detailed plans for the five-year plan annually with related ministries.