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According to Yonhap News,
(SEOUL=Yonhap News) The Korean government looks to create 14,000 new jobs in the pharmaceutical industry and develop 15 new drugs by 2020. It will invest KRW 423.4 billion this year towards research and development.
On March 30, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the 2018 portion of the second five-year plan to nurture and support the pharmaceutical industry.
This year's budget of KRW 423.4 billion is KRW 53.5 billion more than last year and will go towards R&D (KRW 83.9 billion), human resource development (KRW 25 billion), export support (KRW 13.3 billion) and system improvement (KRW 10.2 billion).
In preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Korean government will focus on developing new pharmaceuticals using ICT, Dementia treatment, gene therapy and more. The government will also strengthen R&D for public health purposes such as developing treatments for rare and incurable diseases.
In order to nurture specialists to develop new drugs, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will support graduate programs specializing in the pharmaceutical industry and establish a health industry innovation entrepreneurship support center to explore promising technologies and offer customized consulting.
The ministry will provide training for local pharmaceutical companies looking to enter overseas markets in China and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). It will also establish the Research Investment in Global Health Technology (RIGHT) Fund in partnership with the Korean government, private businesses and the Gates Foundation.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare also confirmed plans to further develop the medical equipment industry as well as the cosmetics industry.
Plans include 18 tasks related to the medical equipment industry, including healthcare fusion technology development and the enactment of the medical equipment industry promotion law. For the cosmetics industry, 16 tasks are underway including skin science application technology development, support for establishing overseas cosmetics markets, overseas sales support and the enactment of the cosmetics industry promotion law.
"We will capitalize on the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and implement policies to provide health and employment for the people and create new opportunities for companies," remarked Yang Seong-il, director of the Health Industry Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
withwit@yna.co.kr
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** This article was translated from Korean.
Source: Yonhap News (Mar. 30, 2018)