The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) are building an integrated support system that links research and development (R&D), clinical trials, and global expansion into a full-cycle framework for pharmaceutical bio ventures.
The two ministries held a joint policy meeting at the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association on Wednesday and announced a "Full-Cycle Collaboration Plan for Fostering Pharmaceutical Bio Ventures." The plan was designed to address support gaps spanning from startup founding to investment, technology commercialization, and global expansion. The government aims to achieve 30 trillion won ($21 billion) in pharmaceutical bio technology exports by 2030 by supporting the entire corporate growth process from startup to clinical entry to overseas expansion.
Pharmaceutical bio ventures have frequently faced a so-called "valley of death" — funding shortfalls and commercialization delays when entering the clinical trial stage of new drug development. To address these structural limitations, the government has decided to introduce a package-style support system that links programs across ministries.
The key concept is "relay-style support." When private investors identify and invest in promising companies, the government follows up with linked R&D and commercialization funding. Selected companies will receive a package of support covering R&D, commercialization, and infrastructure without additional evaluation. Preferential treatment through technology guarantees and the National New Drug Development Project will also be applied when companies enter the clinical trial stage.
Open innovation support will also be expanded. Step-by-step support will be provided across the entire technology transaction process to promote collaboration between global pharmaceutical companies and Korean firms. Global expansion support linked to overseas hubs such as the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) in Boston will also be strengthened. Joint R&D between AI ventures and pharmaceutical companies will be newly pursued.
Research infrastructure and regulatory improvements will proceed in parallel. A shared system for research equipment and data will be established, and regulatory reform tasks based on field-level demand will be identified to drive institutional improvements. The government also plans to build statistics and monitoring systems specialized for pharmaceutical bio ventures to enhance policy precision.
Through this collaboration, the government aims to build an industrial ecosystem where investment, R&D, commercialization, and global expansion are organically connected, and to nurture companies capable of producing blockbuster drugs with annual sales of $1 billion (approximately 1.5 trillion won) or more. "We will build a growth ladder that connects the entire new drug development cycle through inter-ministry collaboration," Health and Welfare Minister Chung Eun-kyeong said.