National Clinical Trial Support Foundation Hosts the 10th KIC

The Korea National Enterprise for Clinical Trials (KoNECT) announced on the 4th that it will hold the "10th 2024 KoNECT-MOHW-MFDS International Conference (KIC)" jointly with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety from the 29th to 31st at Dragon City in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Started in 2015, the KIC, now in its 10th year, is Asia's largest clinical trial conference, attended by over 1,500 stakeholders including pharmaceutical and bio company developers, clinical researchers, regulatory agencies, and contract research organizations from both domestic and international sectors, sharing knowledge and experience in new drug development and clinical development. This year’s theme, held over three days, is "Integration of Past, Present, and Future: Progress in New Drug Development through Innovation."

Notably, this year’s keynote speakers include Stuart Geary, Global Safety Officer (GSO) at Eisai, who developed Leqembi, the first fundamentally successful commercialized dementia treatment, and Andrew Huxley, head of Asia-Pacific clinical research at Eli Lilly, a leader in the global obesity treatment market, who will share innovative new drug development success stories and know-how.

Additionally, a keynote talk show will be held featuring the Korea Drug Development Fund, a domestic government R&D project support agency, the Pan-Government Regenerative Medicine Technology Development Project Group, and LSK Investment, the operator of the K-Bio Mega Fund, analyzing the current status and prospects of the domestic pharmaceutical and bio market and discussing successful case studies of project selection by domestic bio companies.

Furthermore, various lectures addressing global regulatory trends, artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and other global issues in new drug development and clinical trials will be conducted. During the conference, side programs such as a job fair for students majoring in pharmaceutical and bio-related fields, business partnering, and workshops for researchers from Asia including China, Southeast Asia, and Saudi Arabia will also be provided.

Park In-seok, Chairman of the Korea National Enterprise for Clinical Trials, stated, “The 2024 KIC, as Asia’s largest clinical trial conference, aims to review the history of new drug development in Korea and suggest directions for future advancement,” adding, “We hope this will be an opportunity to enhance Korea’s new drug development capabilities by addressing major issues faced by domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies under difficult conditions and sharing experiences among new drug development stakeholders.”