Next Year, 553.2 Billion KRW Investment in Bio-Source Technology Development

Ministry of Science and ICT Announces Detailed Project Plans for One Month Starting from the 15th

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The government will invest a total of 553.2 billion KRW next year to develop bio-origin technologies. This amount is 15 billion KRW more than this year’s budget, aiming to rapidly elevate bio technology to a global level in vaccine and new drug development in response to the pandemic of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and the competition for technological supremacy.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 14th that it has finalized and will actively promote the implementation plan for next year’s bio and medical technology development projects to secure global technological competitiveness in the bio sector, which is a future growth engine.

The investment scale for next year is 553.2 billion KRW, an increase of 15 billion KRW (2.8%) compared to this year’s 538.2 billion KRW. This budget will primarily be used to concentrate support on R&D in key sectors for fostering core industries. Specifically, 175.9 billion KRW will be invested in innovative new drugs, medical devices, and regenerative medicine to foster core bio industries that will drive future economic growth. Additionally, a total of 83.7 billion KRW (including 151 new projects) will be supported for full-cycle support of domestic innovative new drug development and to improve the efficiency of new drug development.

Furthermore, 46.1 billion KRW (total 134.2 billion KRW across ministries) will be allocated to the National New Drug Development Project, which supports the entire new drug development cycle from effective substance discovery to Phase 2 clinical trials for global blockbuster new drugs. New projects include cancer immunotherapy cell technology (CAR-T)* and a novel platform technology for removing disease-causing specific proteins (PROTAC).

2022 Bio Core Technology Investment Plan. Image provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Various projects will also be promoted to secure future strategic technologies and create a research and utilization ecosystem. Specifically, 248.3 billion KRW will be invested to proactively secure promising future bio technologies such as next-generation bio, green and white bio fields, and to establish a bio innovation ecosystem.

Expanding research and development to improve public health is also a major project area. A total of 128.9 billion KRW has been allocated to enhance public health through the development of preventive and therapeutic core technologies related to infectious diseases, dementia, and brain disorders, which are closely related to citizens’ lives. To secure basic and foundational research capabilities, 73.7 billion KRW will be supported for developing next-generation vaccine component technologies for rapid response to infectious diseases, and 19.3 billion KRW will be newly invested in the Vaccine Hub Infrastructure Project. Additionally, 55.2 billion KRW has been allocated for research in the field of neuroscience.

Detailed information will be announced on the websites of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation from the 15th until January 13th of next year.

Lee Chang-yoon, Director of Basic and Fundamental Research Policy, stated, "As competition for technological supremacy intensifies and global technologies become more fragmented, innovation in bio technology is becoming increasingly important. We will focus on supporting the convergence of bio with advanced digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data to advance bio technology, and support core future technologies and common foundational technologies applicable across various fields."