Key Highlights :
Korean bio and pharmaceutical firms are looking to expand their presence in the US market following an agreement between the two countries to increase cooperation in the sectors. Last month, during President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the US, 23 MOUs were signed in the bio sector, covering research and development (R&D), medical devices, and digital health. This has resulted in a surge of optimism that domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies will be able to enter the US market.
The MOUs are encouraging signs that the current administration is taking bio seriously as a major industry. A large number of bio-healthcare companies have joined the presidential delegation to the US. Daewoong Pharmaceutical signed a technology export contract for new drug candidates worth around $481.9 million with Vitalli Bio, a subsidiary of Aditum Bio, a US biotechnology investment company. EuBiologics agreed to supply raw materials for vaccine to a US bio company, while Olix signed an MOU for joint research and development of RNAi therapeutics. Welt, which recently developed an insomnia treatment device, also agreed to cooperate with Northeastern University in joint research and development and clinical trials.
On the same occasion, Minister of Food and Drug Safety Oh Yu-kyoung discussed ways to cooperate in the digital health field with Robert Califf, head of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They agreed to cooperate in the development of medical products using artificial intelligence. The Korea Research-based Pharma Industry Association (KRPIA) believes that the agreements are beneficial for preemptively preparing regulations for new technology products through multilateral cooperation with foreign regulatory agencies and to lay the foundation for Korea's regulations to become the standard for global regulations.
The MOUs signed between the two countries are expected to give Korean bio and pharmaceutical companies the opportunity to enter the US market and compete with other global firms. With the US being one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the world, Korean companies will be able to benefit from improved access to the US market and the potential to increase their sales. This will also help to increase the global recognition of Korean bio and pharmaceutical companies, as well as their products.