Korea's biomedicine industry gains traction as new growth engine

급성장하는 국내 바이오의약품 시장 정리
Turning to Korea's biomedicine sector,... which the government has pointed to as a key growth engine for the country.
Kim Ji-yeon gives us an overview of the booming industry in the first installment of our new "IT and Science Front" segment.
Local bio startup EuBiologics says it's the first company in Korea to ever independently develop a cholera vaccine from micro-organisms for export.
Its success is an example of the kind of enterprise the government wants to nurture with its three-year, multimillion dollar plan.
CEO Baik Yeong-ok says it will help bio startups like his to thrive because the most difficult part of launching the business was in securing long-term state and private investment.

"Until now, the government's support was very limited in many respects. I remember the time I had to go door-to-door because the company couldn't pay employee salaries -- sometimes for up to four months. But luckily, in the end, we were able to receive millions of dollars from investors, which we used for lab equipment and clinical tests to develop new medicines."

The company is now sending vaccines made at this facility... all over the world... after being granted approval from the World Health Organization in December... a result the CEO says he owes to the faith and support of his employees and the local community.

"And now the startup is supplying 10-point-3 million cholera vaccines to UNICEF through 2018."

The company is now aiming to develop by 2021 more vaccines and biosimilars, or biological medical products with properties that are similar to ones that have already been approved.
The products will be developed for the treatment of endemic diseases,... including typhoid fever and dysentery,... with the hope that they can contribute to boosting the status of local biomedicine companies on a global scale.

Korea's biomedicine industry is becoming a new growth engine for the country, given its growing presence in the global pharmaceutical market... which is estimated to grow exponentially over the years to surpass 1-point-2-trillion U.S. dollars by 2020.
The local biomedicine market is expected to grow sevenfold over the next six years to 11-point-6 billion dollars... and create 81-thousand jobs by the year 2020.
Biomedicine uses biological elements and organisms, ranging from bacterium, enzymes to stem cells,... to produce pharmaceutical drugs.
One of the biggest advantages of biomedicines is that they are less toxic to the body than conventional synthetic medicines -- an important trait for treating patients with chronic diseases.
It's also why the Korean government sees the sector as vital to the future of the country's bio healthcare industry.

"The world's first biosimilar antibody and stem cell research therapy were created in Korea... showing the country's potential in the bio-pharmaceutical field. The government will do its utmost to turn the sector into a core growth industry that will in turn help boost the local economy."

The government has also pledged to help make Korea the world's seventh strongest country in the bio healthcare sector by 2020... by implementing tax exemptions, providing funds for research and development... and reducing existing regulations for startups to list on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ.
In May, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning laid out a three-year plan through 2018 to invest around 110-million dollars into the development of new medicines and methods for preventing the spread of infectious diseases.
It will also set aside another 67-million dollars to support the creation of more than one thousand bio startups during the period.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.


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