U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly and Company has decided to invest in Korea's pharmaceutical and biotech industry. The strategy is to invest $500 million (about 747 billion won) over five years and use Korea as a hub for global clinical trials and nurturing biotech startups.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 9th that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Eli Lilly and Company to develop Korea's pharmaceutical and biotech industry and improve public health.
Under the agreement, Lilly will invest a total of $500 million (about 747 billion won) in Korea over the next five years starting this year, and will work with the government to strengthen the capabilities and competitiveness of the domestic pharmaceutical and biotech industry.
In particular, it will spur innovation by building Lilly Gateway Labs, an incubating platform for domestic corporations and biotech startups, and move to expand the attraction of domestic clinical trials and create a research environment on par with global standards. The scope of cooperation will gradually expand around key tasks such as social contribution activities to improve the health of medically vulnerable groups.
After the agreement, the ministry and Lilly plan to operate a joint working council to promote cooperation to strengthen the domestic pharmaceutical and biotech innovation ecosystem and expand global clinical trials.
Minister Jung Eun-kyeong of the ministry said, "This agreement will be a meaningful opportunity to strengthen the innovative capacity of Korea's pharmaceutical and biotech industry while accelerating innovative drug development by promising domestic corporations and bolstering global competitiveness."
Patrick Johnson, head of international business at Eli Lilly and Company, said, "We hope to help Korea grow into a global leader in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry and contribute to patient care and public health by improving access to innovative medicines."
Lilly's GLP-1 class obesity and diabetes treatments zepbound and Mounjaro (ingredient name tirzepatide) were tentatively tallied to have generated $35.8 billion (52.2357 trillion won) in sales last year.
The company is also developing other obesity treatments. Among the 11 "drugs to watch this year" released early this year by Clarivate, an international scholarly information service corporations, Lilly's oral obesity drug Orforglipron and the triple-agonist obesity injection retatrutide made the list.
Meanwhile, earlier on the 3rd of this month, the ministry signed a five-year MOU for a total investment of 710 billion won with global drugmaker Roche to strengthen the global competitiveness of the domestic biohealth industry.