The government has presented a vision to grow the bio industry, which is gaining attention as the "second semiconductor industry," by setting the production scale and export scale of domestic companies' biopharmaceuticals at 15 trillion won and 10 billion dollars respectively by 2030.
On the 1st, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the "Bio Manufacturing Innovation Strategy" containing these details at the "Meeting to Strengthen Bio Manufacturing Competitiveness" held at the Startup Campus in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, chaired by Minister Anduk Geun, with company officials from Samsung Biologics, Celltrion, and others in attendance.
The ministry evaluated that Korea has secured the world's second-largest biopharmaceutical manufacturing capability based on large-scale private sector investment, and stated that to secure a super-gap in this field, the government will invest a budget of 2.1 trillion won from this year until 2030 in R&D support, creating a bio materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang) ecosystem, building industrial infrastructure, and supporting global expansion.
Through this, by attracting private investment expected to reach 17.7 trillion won by 2030, it is anticipated that by 2030, the production and export scale of Korean companies' biopharmaceuticals will reach 15 trillion won and 10 billion dollars respectively.
Separately from budget support, the government will supply 4.2 trillion won in policy finance this year alone to the biohealth sector through policy banks such as KDB Industrial Bank to ensure smooth private investment.
Additionally, to support the advancement of cutting-edge production processes in the bio field, the government will promote the "Korean-style BioMADE (Bio Manufacturing Innovation Platform)" project after conducting a preliminary feasibility study.
Previously, the United States established BioMADE in 2020, a research institution with an organic cooperation system among industry, academia, research institutes, and government, to strengthen the manufacturing capabilities of the U.S. bio industry.
Moreover, starting next year, the government plans to strengthen cooperation with leading international institutions such as the U.S. to advance companies' production processes and accelerate commercialization by linking with the public bio foundry to be established.
Earlier, in July last year, the government presented the "Bio Economy 2.0 Promotion Direction," which includes fostering the bio industry such as biopharmaceuticals, bio new materials, bio energy, and digital bio, aiming to grow the total "bio economy" production scale to 100 trillion won by 2030.
Minister Ahn said, "Bio is a future growth engine and an essential industry for health security, growing as the second semiconductor industry," adding, "We will support the leap to a bio manufacturing hub through the establishment of a bio manufacturing innovation platform and the creation of a SoBuJang ecosystem."
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