Summarizing One Year of K-Bio Achievements

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] A forum to review the achievements of K-bio over the past year is being held. The development team of the acid secretion inhibitor 'Pexuprazan,' which has emerged as a key product of Daewoong Pharmaceutical through technology export (license out), will receive medals, and performance presentations will continue.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute announced on the 23rd that they will hold the '2021 Health Industry Performance Exchange Meeting' for two days from the 23rd to 24th at Dragon City in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Unlike last year, this year’s event will be held both online and offline in line with the phased recovery plan from COVID-19 ('With Corona').

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute have been holding the Health Industry Performance Exchange Meeting since 2015. Marking its 7th year, about 1,000 participants from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Korea Health Industry Development Institute including First Vice Minister Yang Sung-il and Director Kwon Soon-man, as well as experts from companies, research institutes, and hospitals in the health industry sector will attend.

On the first day of the event, an opening ceremony and awards ceremony will be held to discover and widely recognize companies and institutions that have contributed to the development of the health industry throughout the year.

Team Leader Kim Ji-deok (54) of Daewoong Pharmaceutical was recognized for strengthening national industrial competitiveness through global technology exports totaling up to 1.06 trillion KRW by developing Pexuprazan, and will be awarded the Mugunghwa Medal of the Order of Civil Merit. Professor Lee Young-ho (61) of Hanyang University was awarded the Order of Service Merit for his pioneering research in umbilical cord blood transplantation and cell therapy using umbilical cord blood. Professor Han Joo-yong (50) of Samsung Seoul Hospital received the Presidential Citation for establishing a new antiplatelet therapy method involving P2Y12 monotherapy after coronary animal interventional procedures.

Including these, a total of 104 awards will be presented: 41 government awards for contributions to health and medical technology promotion, 34 awards for contributions to health and medical technology commercialization, 9 awards for contributions to the promotion of the elderly-friendly industry, 8 awards for excellent innovative pharmaceutical companies, and 12 awards for excellent innovative medical device companies.

In addition, there will be performance presentations and exchange meetings announcing major achievements by support projects, business forums to strengthen exchanges and cooperation among researchers, startup companies, and mid-sized companies, and exhibitions of technologies and products by innovative companies and institutions. On the second day, at the 'Innovative Pharmaceutical Companies Performance Report Meeting,' Daewoong Pharmaceutical, which developed Pexuprazan and signed four technology export contracts, will present its achievements. At the 'Innovative Medical Device Companies Performance Report Meeting,' Seegene, which launched COVID-19 diagnostic reagents and achieved sales worth 1 trillion KRW, will present its performance.

First Vice Minister Yang Sung-il of the Ministry of Health and Welfare said, “In the unprecedented global crisis of COVID-19, the health industry sector is making a significant contribution to economic growth indicators such as exports and employment,” adding, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute will provide generous support needed by the industry to help the health industry sector contribute to economic growth as a strategic industry responsible for the future of the Republic of Korea.”