South Korean biopharmaceutical executives will reportedly accompany President Yoon Suk Yeol on his state visit to the U.S. later this month.
According to industry watchers, representatives of Korean biopharmaceutical companies will join the president's diplomatic trip to the U.S. this month to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance.
The presidential office is currently in the process of coordinating the inclusion of prominent figures from the business community, such as the heads of Korea's 10 major conglomerates, for an upcoming trip. According to reports, they have also requested that Korean biopharmaceutical companies submit their intention to participate in advance.
Although the list of companies accompanying Yoon on the trip has not been released for security reasons, The Bell, a local financial news outlet, has reported that Yoon will be accompanied by companies specializing in digital healthcare or AI-based drug development capabilities.
This is the first time in history that a sitting president will travel with a group of biopharmaceutical company heads on a state visit to the U.S.
This demonstrates the importance of the biopharmaceutical industry to the Korean economy, as well as the government's commitment to promoting the industry's international growth.
President Yoon has been a strong advocate for the development of Korea's biopharmaceutical industry since his presidential election campaign.
In line with President Yoon's intention to promote the growth of Korea's biopharmaceutical industry, the government has recently announced its plans to establish a digital and bio-health innovation committee under the prime minister. Additionally, they plan to create a mega healthcare fund worth 1 trillion won ($757.6 million) to support the development of the industry.
News reports said President Yoon will create a meeting where Korean biopharmaceutical companies can have direct communication with multinational pharmaceuticals headquartered in the U.S.
The Yoon administration had previously taken Korean pharmaceutical and biotech industry officials, including Medytox CEO Jung, Ammedics CEO Park Soon-hyung, ExBody Director Kim Mi-sook, and 3billion CEO Keum Chang-won during his state visit to the United Arab Emirates in January.
Ammedics specializes in hyaluronic acid, and ExBody is a musculoskeletal analysis company. 3billion is a genetic testing start-up for rare diseases.
During the visit, Medytox had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Dubai Science Park, owned by Tecom Group, a state-run company in Dubai, to build a factory for finished BTX products in the UAE.
Most recently, a high-level delegation led by Dubai Science conducted due diligence on its second and third botulinum toxin (BTX) manufacturing plants in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, in February as a follow-up measure.