K-Bio Vaccine Fund Nos. 1 and 2 have raised 261.6 billion won ($199.6 million) in investment. The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to start investments this year through a priority formation procedure.

The ministry said Tuesday that K-Bio Vaccine Fund No. 1 has reached the required minimum capitalization of 150 billion won and will now initiate the priority formation procedure.

The priority formation procedure refers to starting investments early if the fund raises more than the minimum amount.

Yuanta Investment, the lead manager of the K-Bio Vaccine Fund No. 1, has come to push for a priority formation procedure with 150 billion won -- 60 billion won contributed by the government and state-run banks plus 90 billion won from private investors’ contribution.

On Oct. 20, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it would select Premier Partners as the lead manager of K-Bio Vaccine Fund No. 2 and proceed with the priority formation process for the 111.6 billion raised. As a result, a combined total of 251.6 has been raised in the first and second funds.

To revitalize biopharmaceutical investments, the ministry plans to finalize the priority formation process of the K-Bio Vaccine Fund Nos. 1 and No. 2 by the end of the year and start investments quickly.

To this end, the ministry will hold a joint investment briefing session with the managers of the Nos. 1 and 2 funds in November to introduce the investment scale, targets, and screening procedures.

"Considering the shrinking biopharmaceutical investment market, we will execute investments faster than other funds," Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Park Min-soo said. "We hope that the launch of the K-Bio Vaccine Fund will serve as a pump-priming water to revitalize biopharmaceutical investments and lead to other private funds’ investment."