On the 7th, Choi Kwang-hoon, president of the Korean Pharmaceutical Association, emphasized at the '2025 Pharmaceutical New Year Greeting Ceremony' held at the Korean Pharmaceutical Association building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, that 'the issue of instability in the supply of drugs, revealed through the COVID-19 pandemic, has become a concern for everyone in the pharmaceutical industry' and said, 'We must come together to gather mediation measures to solve this problem.'
The event was attended by Park Min-soo, Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, Oh Yu-gyeong, commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and Kim Mi-ae, a member of the National Assembly from the ruling party and the Health and Welfare Committee, along with members of the Welfare Committee, including Ahn Sang-hoon and Nam In-soon from the Democratic Party, Jang Jong-tae, Jeon Jin-sook, and Kim Yun from the Democratic Party, as well as Roh Yeon-hong, president of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Association, Yoon Woong-seob, chairman of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Association (Ildong Pharmaceutical vice president), Kim Young-joo, CEO of Chong Kun Dang, Jeon Jae-gwang, CEO of Kolon Pharmaceutical, among other key figures in the pharmaceutical industry.
Roh Yeon-hong, president of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Association, noted, 'This year, the outlook for the pharmaceutical industry remains grim due to external crises such as investment contraction, high interest rates, supply chain restructuring stemming from U.S.-China conflicts, and geopolitical risks,' and emphasized that the pharmaceutical industry should work together to overcome these challenges.
Roh stated, 'Despite the difficulties last year, we succeeded in developing innovative new drugs, and drug exports recorded double-digit growth,' adding that 'the Pharmaceutical Bio Association has secured the AI new drug development project K-Melody and is promoting collaborative learning based on pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and research institutions.' He said that 'we will prioritize public health and strive for more innovative and sustainable development through AI new drug development.'
Park Min-soo, Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, stated, 'Last year, with the cooperation of the pharmaceutical industry, the government expanded services for the needy and achieved results in transparent drug distribution,' and noted, 'We have expanded the operation of the public late-night pharmacy system nationwide in collaboration with local governments, which had previously been funded by government budgets.' He also expressed hope that 'the government will continue to closely cooperate to develop good policies.'
Furthermore, the Vice Minister said, 'We will prioritize domestic raw material production corporations, ultimately contributing to health security in order to respect the innovative values of new drugs and maintain a certain level of domestic production base for essential drugs that are critically needed.' He emphasized, 'We will also improve the drug system with clear criteria going forward.'
He mentioned, 'Despite a 20% reduction in the government's research and development budget last year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare increased it by 10%, and this year it has been increased by 18% as well.' He added that 'we are introducing a spending report for contract sales organizations and have established a government-wide private organization called the Biohealth Committee to identify and improve killer regulations for pharmaceutical and bio research and development.' He continued, 'We are also launching projects like the Korean version of ARPHA-H to narrow the R&D gap with advanced countries, and we will continue to develop policies.'
Oh Yu-gyeong, commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, expressed, 'This new year, the Ministry will enhance the expertise of new drug reviews and shorten the review period,' and thanked 'the pharmaceutical industry for doing its best in various stages from drug research and development to manufacturing, production, distribution, and usage.' He asserted, 'We will also do our best to solidify communication with the pharmaceutical industry.'