The Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF) held the "2026 investment review committee workshop" on the 8th at the Westin Josun Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul.
About 100 investment committee members took part in the event that day to discuss changes in the global new drug development investment environment and the direction of future investment reviews.
The investment review committee is an organization that reviews, from an investment perspective, the business feasibility and support scale of projects backed by the Korea Drug Development Fund. It is composed of experts in new drug development, investment, and intellectual property recommended by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and related academic societies.
Park Young-min, head of the Korea Drug Development Fund, said in opening remarks, "Because the Korea Drug Development Fund is a large-scale research and development (R&D) support program funded by the government budget, the investment review committee's rational and objective judgment is more important than anything else," adding, "I hope this workshop serves as an opportunity to review strategic project selection and support directions."
Kim Sun-nam, head of the R&D division at the Korea Drug Development Fund, presented on "strategies for promoting the Korea Drug Development Fund," outlining operating results and future plans. Lee Won-jung, head of the research and development team, presented "operational outcomes of the investment review committee and strategies for successful new drug project management," explaining the selection, management, and evaluation system for investment reviews and its performance.
Expert lectures focused on recent global bio investment trends and new drug development strategies. Kim Il-han, director at KB Investment, outlined recent venture investment trends and key deal cases, assessing changes in the investment environment for new drug development.
Park Chan-hee, chief science officer (CSO) of Novelty Nobility, emphasized development strategies aligned with global market demand and the importance of data packages under the theme "Market Pull, Plug-in-Ready: From 2026 JPM to BIO KOREA/ChinaBio."
In the afternoon, a panel discussion was held under the theme "investment reviews that produce results: direction and choices of the Korea Drug Development Fund." Participants discussed the role of the investment review committee and sustainable support measures after the conclusion of the program.
Starting this year, the fund will enter phase two and focus on enhancing the qualitative competitiveness of supported projects and strengthening support for clinical-stage projects. It also plans to accelerate the creation of outcomes by expanding support for artificial intelligence (AI)-based new drug development.