[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The pharmaceutical and bio industry welcomed the proposal of the amendment to the "Special Act on the Promotion and Support of the Pharmaceutical Industry" (Pharmaceutical Industry Act), which lays the foundation for establishing a control tower to oversee domestic pharmaceutical and bio nurturing policies.
Four organizations?the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio Association, Korea Bio Association, Korea Bio-pharmaceutical Association, and Korea Pharmaceutical Importers and Exporters Association?expressed their support through a joint statement on the 2nd, saying, "We welcome the proposal of the Pharmaceutical Industry Act amendment."
The amendment aims to establish the legal basis for installing a control tower to comprehensively manage current pharmaceutical and bio industry nurturing and support policies, and to more clearly define preferential drug pricing for innovative pharmaceutical companies, thereby strengthening the competitiveness of the domestic pharmaceutical and bio industry.
In particular, it includes upgrading the "Pharmaceutical Industry Promotion and Support Committee," previously chaired by the Minister of Health and Welfare, to the "Pharmaceutical Bio Industry Innovation Committee," chaired by the Prime Minister.
The pan-government control tower has long been one of the core tasks demanded by the domestic industry. Global pharmaceutical powerhouses such as the United States, Europe, and Japan centrally manage industrial nurturing policies through a national control tower, covering everything from budget to policy. However, domestically, industrial nurturing policies, finances, and regulations are dispersed across multiple ministries, and there is no entity managing the entire cycle from basic research to clinical trials and global expansion, resulting in reduced effectiveness.
Accordingly, the pharmaceutical and bio industry has strongly demanded the establishment of a control tower to oversee mid- to long-term nurturing strategies and policies, including research and development, policy finance, tax support, regulatory improvement, and workforce development, while preventing inefficiencies such as inter-ministerial silos and overlapping projects.
These organizations stated, "The 'Pharmaceutical Bio Industry Innovation Committee,' chaired by the Prime Minister as stipulated in this amendment, is expected to function as a genuine control tower that integrates and manages nurturing and support policies for the pharmaceutical and bio industry," emphasizing, "Furthermore, it will create an environment that promotes challenges by motivating companies leading innovation, laying the foundation for the leap to a global pharmaceutical powerhouse."
They added, "Our pharmaceutical and bio industry will continue to strive for the production of excellent and safe medicines and the development of innovative new drugs, doing our best to protect public health rights and open a new era of global success."
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