According to Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea,

South Korea stood out in biopharm capabilities in Asia and was deemed seventh most competitive in global scale, according to a recent survey released by Cytiva and Longitude – a research arm of Financial Times on Monday.

The survey report titled Global Biopharma Resilience Index was based on feedback from 1,165 biopharma executives and healthcare policymakers and in-depth interviews with 10 key stakeholders across 20 countries to measure the ability of the industry to respond to global needs in five areas: supply chain resilience, talent pool, R&D ecosystem, manufacturing agility, and government policy and regulation. Respondents answered questions on a scale of one to 10 in each of the five areas.

South Korea ranked first in Asia and seventh globally. With an overall index score of 6.6 out of 10, the U.S. topped the entire list with 7.12. South Korea received 6.76, beating key Asian peers such as Japan (6.75), China (6.75) and Singapore (6.63).

The K-bio industry received a high score in the R&D ecosystem, with active cooperation between institutions cited as the biggest advantage of the R&D ecosystem. There were also many positive responses toward public policy on bio. Some 86 percent of respondents in Korea said that government policies encourage companies to manufacture pharmaceutical and biopharma products.

In contrast, South Korea received low scores in terms of manufacturing agility, including the ability to develop novel drugs and vaccines, and talent pool in the industry.

When asked about talent pool challenges in which Korea received the lowest score, Samsung Biologics chief executive John Rim, who jointed an in-depth interview, said the company is offering its Biotech Academy programs to local pharmacology students to help them improve their knowledge and skills. The company is also advising universities to establish a curriculum or a standalone education center for bioprocess training. Regarding manufacturing agility, Korea’s another weak point, Rim said innovative technology is more important than ever, and Samsung Biologics is preparing to respond to market demands by planning its fourth plant.



By Lee Jong-hwa and Minu Kim

Copyrights Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea. All Rights Reserved.

Source: Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea (Mar 9, 2021)