KMDF Successfully Concludes "Medical Device R&D Integrated Conference"

The First Stage to Grow K-Medical Devices as a Leading Business in the Next Normal Era

[Beombucheo Jeonju Medical Device Research Project Group Director Kim Beopmin is unveiling the integrated platform for the medical device industry, ‘K&P (KMDF & Platforms)’, and introducing actual operation cases. / Photo by Beombucheo Jeonju Medical Device Research Project Group]

The Pan-Government Full-Cycle Medical Device R&D Project Group (Director Kim Beop-min) announced that on June 16 (Wednesday), it successfully held the "Medical Device R&D Integrated Conference" at EL Tower under the theme "Next Normal, New Challenges, and Medical Device Integrated Platform."

The event was conducted in a hybrid format, both online and offline, strictly adhering to quarantine guidelines considering the pandemic situation, and was divided into Part 1 and Part 2 sessions.

This conference was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Part 1 began with an opening address by Director Kim Beop-min, followed by a congratulatory video from Yoon Hu-deok, Chairman of the National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee and member of the Democratic Party. Subsequently, congratulatory remarks were delivered by Lee Byung-hee, Director at the Ministry of Science and ICT, Park Jae-young, Director at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Jeong Ho-sang, Director at the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

In his opening remarks, Director Kim Beop-min stated, "The medical device industry is a major pillar of the biohealth industry, one of Korea's three BIG innovation growth industries. Although it cannot yet be compared to the other BIG3 industries such as automobiles or semiconductors, it is a path Korea must take and a field where we can excel." He added, "To foster this medical device industry, the project group has concretized support measures spanning the entire cycle from R&D to commercialization in the form of a platform," urging interest and encouragement.

Following this, a progress report was presented on the Pan-Government Full-Cycle Medical Device R&D Project Group (hereinafter "the Project Group"), which has been rapidly advancing over the past year. Achievements shared included approximately 310 new project agreements, advisory support for Pan-Government projects, and strategic MOUs with related organizations.

The keynote lecture of the conference was delivered by Professor Baek Long-min of Seoul National University College of Medicine under the theme "K-Medical Device Industry Leading the Next Normal Era and the Role of the Project Group."

In his keynote, Professor Baek introduced global medical device research and industry trends, the current status of K-medical devices in the untact era, and various cases. Notably, through sharing achievements in healthcare innovation at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital’s Healthcare Innovation Park and support for medical device companies, he presented a vivid and concrete "future vision of K-medical devices" to conference participants. Additionally, a certificate awarding ceremony for field experts appointed as planning advisory committee members of the Project Group was held.

In the afternoon Part 2 session, various lectures and discussions were held to introduce actual operation cases of nine integrated platforms called "K&P (KMDF & Platforms)." The first session shared cases of Pan-Government product-type projects and support projects.

Support measures related to R&D infrastructure, including pre-consultation with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, clinical advisory and support centered on clinical societies, proactive identification of full-cycle commercialization issues, and assistance in drafting essential milestones through practical CRO consulting were also provided. Opportunities were given to hear specific plans for planning and promoting private certification systems.

The final session featured a panel discussion on the theme "Vision of the Project Group Integrated Platform Desired by Researchers." Moderated by Jang Yong-min, Chairman of the Project Group, panelists included Director Kim Beop-min, Professor Seo Jun-beom of the Project Group Planning Advisory Committee, Won Jong-hyuk, Director of the Biohealthcare Examination Division at the Korea Intellectual Property Office’s Convergence Technology Examination Bureau, Kim Dong-wook, President of the Korean Society of Medical and Biological Engineering, Son Mi-jin, CEO of SuzenTech, Kim Hyun-jun, CEO of VUNO Inc., and Moon Yeo-jung, Executive Director at IMM Investment, representing various industry-academia-research sectors, contributing their voices to the development of the K-medical device industry.

During the conference, on-site consultations for the medical device integrated platform were also conducted in a separately prepared space. In addition to the Project Group, the Korea Medical Device Safety Information Center, Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Korea Patent Strategy Development Institute, and clinical CRO Synex participated, providing systematic and professional consultations. To comply with quarantine rules, consultations were conducted by prior reservation and covered project execution, clinical trial consultations, patent and IP R&D consultations, as well as various regulatory-related on-site consultations.

Professor Kim Seong-taek of Yonsei University College of Dentistry Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, who participated in the on-site consultation, said, "I received consultations on medical device classification, new medical technologies, clinical trial support, and commercialization procedures, which I had been curious about while conducting research projects. I am also conducting national research projects, and everything is organically connected. Most consultations I had before were fragmented, but today’s comprehensive consultation was very beneficial despite the short time," expressing his impressions.

The forum, also broadcast live on YouTube, attracted high interest from researchers and the general public who could not attend the conference in person due to Covid-19.