Earlier this month, the South Korean government announced a KRW 98.2 billion ($82.76 million) investment into improving the evaluation guidelines for new biopharmaceutical products. The investment, implemented by the biotechnology committee led by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, covers new biopharmaceutical products over the course of the next 10 years.

As part of the committee’s outline, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will allocate KRW 40 billion from 2017 to 2027 for the purpose of improving the regulatory guidelines for stem cell therapies. The Ministry will also invest KRW 20 billion into precision medicine and allocate KRW 38 million for vaccines for infectious diseases. Additionally, the Ministry also plans to devise regulatory standards for next generation biologics.

In a statement, the Ministry explained that the measures the country has taken to improve its biopharmaceutical industry fall short of ensuring Korea’s position as a global leader in the industry. To remedy this, the Ministry announced plans to establish agreements with overseas drug regulators that recognize the respective countries’ GMP certification to increase and strengthen South Korea’s presence in the industry. Currently, South Korea accounts for approximately 1% of the global biopharmaceutical market and is 14^th in market size. The committee also stated that it plans to fund projects beyond strictly medicine-based biopharmaceutical R&D, and will also encompass industrial-focused and plant-based biotechnology.

The Ministry of Science also announced its agenda to streamline R&D funding for DNA therapy, genomics, precision medicine and disease diagnostics technologies by merging the sectors into a single government agency.

Source: The Korea Herald