Unwavering R&D investment key to Korea's drug discovery leadership: KPBMA

An industry report suggested that Korea needs a strategy to attract sustained investment in consistent and relentless R&D by the public and private sectors, foster medical scientists and R&D experts, revitalize and support biotech ventures, secure innovation platform technologies and early-stage pipelines, and directly enter major developed markets.

The Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association (KPBMA) celebrated its 80th anniversary on Monday. It published its 28th policy report (KPBMA Brief) on “Leap to a leading country in new drug development, overcoming challenges for K-Pharma.”

The report opens with a notable contribution from Lee Kwan-soon, chairman of the Future Vision Committee for the 80th Anniversary Project of the KPBMA, titled “Leap to a Leading Country in New Drug Development, How to Do It.” This policy report captures the path to becoming a new drug development powerhouse from different perspectives of pharmaceutical companies (Oh Se-woong, Vice President of Yuhan Corp.), biotech companies (Lee Dong-ki, CEO of OliX Pharmaceuticals), and venture capitalists (Moon Yeo-jung, Managing Director of IMM Investment).

Lee Kwan-soon suggested that although there are many positive signals related to global drug development in the Korean pharma and biotech industry, it faces more challenges. The biggest problem is that capital inflows for new drug development are decreasing significantly. In addition, he pointed out that there remains a lack of talented human resources needed to develop new drugs and the future food industry at the national level.

“First of all, it is urgent to establish an organization that can efficiently execute 'new drug development' as the future growth engine of the country by the National Bio Committee,” Lee said. “In the private sector, it is necessary to constantly think about creating value step by step and focus on areas where Korea can exel, given limited resources and development speed.”

Touching on the Pharmaceutical Bio Vision 2030 set by the association for its 80th anniversary, he predicted that 15 percent or more of R&D investment in new drugs to sales and five global blockbuster drugs (sales of 1 trillion won or more each) are challenging tasks. Lee also observed that if the public and private sectors combine their capabilities and make active efforts, they can stand out as a new drug powerhouse.

Yuhan Corp. Vice President Oh suggested ways for Korea to grow into a new drug development powerhouse while sandwiched between the U.S., an R&D innovation leader with the largest pharmaceutical market, and China, which has quickly secured a large pipeline through economies of scale.

Oh suggested a set of strategies, such as investing in R&D with determination and relentlessness, fostering medical scientists and development experts, securing innovation platform technologies and early pipelines by activating and supporting biotech ventures, seeking shared growth through open innovation, accumulating capabilities and necessary capital for late-stage clinical development, and directly entering major developed markets, including the U.S.

Olix Pharmaceuticals CEO Lee praised Korea's biotech startups for their steady growth based on their strategies and the government's financial and institutional support, even in a harsh environment, and diagnosed that they are now at a critical turning point to start competing in the global market.

Lee called on biotech firms and the government to provide more systematic support based on mutual understanding to quickly resolve field challenges and act as a bridge when necessary to strengthen this momentum and leapfrog into a pharma-bio powerhouse. In particular, he called for establishing listing management standards specialized for drug discovery biotechs, as they face significant constraints due to the high cost of research and clinical development, which may breach the loss from continuing operations before income taxes (LOS) standard.

“New drugs are not built in a day -- just as Rome wasn't. It takes patience, investment, understanding, and empathy for the industry ecosystem to overcome long development periods, complex regulations, and fierce competition to reach the market,” IMM Investment Managing Director Moon said. “To not miss the opportunity of the second leap forward of Korea's pharmaceutical bio-industry, each pillar of policy, research, and investment must understand each other's language and move as one ecosystem.”

The latest KPBMA Brief also carries various other policy suggestions, including “Proposals for Pharmaceutical Bio Policy Pledges for the 21st Presidential Election for a Healthy Future of Korea.”