Ministry of SMEs and Startups Holds Kickoff Meeting for 'Pharmaceutical Bio Venture Advisory Group'

Composed of 12 Members Including Pharmaceutical Bio Ventures and VCs

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 19th that it held a kickoff meeting for the 'Pharmaceutical Bio Venture Advisory Group' to support the growth of small and medium-sized pharmaceutical and bio ventures and to reflect on-the-ground feedback in policy-making.

The ministry established a dedicated Pharmaceutical Bio Venture Task Force (TF) within the ministry to systematically foster pharmaceutical and bio ventures, starting with the announcement of the 'Plan for Creating an Innovative Pharmaceutical Bio Venture Ecosystem' at the Industrial Competitiveness Enhancement Ministers' Meeting on January 15.

In addition, to promote effective policies tailored to the unique characteristics of the pharmaceutical and bio industry, the advisory group was formed with 12 key stakeholders from the pharmaceutical and bio ecosystem, including entrepreneurs, related associations and organizations, mid-sized pharmaceutical companies, and venture capital (VC) representatives.

The advisory group will first discuss policy directions to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic pharmaceutical and bio ventures in response to rapidly changing global market environments and technology trends. It will also provide expert policy recommendations to further specify and advance support policies and programs in line with on-site needs.

Each quarter, advisory committee members will set the direction for pharmaceutical and bio venture development policies. Each month, working-level committee members, recommended by the advisory committee, will concretize support policies through working meetings according to the policy planning direction. The specific measures discussed at the working meetings will be reviewed at the next advisory group meeting, establishing a self-sustaining policy feedback system to advance these policies.

At the kickoff meeting, Minister Oh Youngju attended to present letters of appointment to the advisory group members and engaged in in-depth discussions on the advisory group's operational plans, the current status of policies to foster small and medium-sized pharmaceutical and bio ventures, major trends in the domestic and global pharmaceutical and bio ecosystems, and challenges faced in the field.

Minister Oh stated, "In the pharmaceutical and bio sector, financial support for individual companies alone is not sufficient. It is also essential to support cooperation among various ecosystem participants, including pharmaceutical and bio ventures, startups, pharmaceutical companies, and CMOs. Based on the diverse recommendations of the advisory group, we will further advance policies to foster pharmaceutical and bio ventures so that small and medium-sized companies in this sector can grow in a stable ecosystem."