Commercial Counselors of the Embassies of the European Union were introduced to the achievements of the pharmaceutical industry in the Republic of Korea

The commercial counselors of the EU embassies were introduced to the development of the pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology in the Republic of Korea. Main presenter was Dr. Duck Sang Kim, CEO of “Sartorius Korea Biotech” Co. Ltd (SKB-Korea). The SKB corporation (seat in Germany, annual turnover of 4.2 billion euros and over 16,000 workers worldwide) has its production facilities in Korea and is a significant manufacturer of appliances for the biotechnology industry.

It was also emphasized that Korea has invested a lot in recent years in the development of innovations in the field of biotechnology and, according to Bloomberg, currently ranks first in the world in terms of innovation (ahead of Singapore, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, etc.).

Dr. Kim maintains that the development of the pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology in Korea is mainly due to the activities of the private sector in the country and in particular the Korean companies Samsung Biologics, Celltrion and SK Bio. As of the moment, their market capitalization is respectively 53 trillion SKW (at an average exchange rate of 1 euro = 1400 SKW), 23 trillion SKW and 1 trillion SKW. The company "Samsung Biologics" which has a profit of about 30% of its turnover, is specialized in the production of medicinal substances for the pharmaceutical companies, while "Celltrion" is in the biopharmaceutical business. At present, about 60% of the drugs in Korea are made from chemical substances and 40% is the share of biopharmaceutical products, but the country's biopharmaceutical industry has been growing at a much faster rate in recent years.

The Korean government continues to support the biotechnology sector and in particular its research and development. In recent years, the number of new Korean biotech companies in the Songdo Technology Zone has been constantly growing (Songdo - an artificial island created near Incheon that has turned into a biotech hub for the companies in the area). SKB's production base is also located there.

According to some interesting data about the development of the pharmaceutical industry in 2022, Korea occupies:

• 19th place in the world in pharmaceutical exports (exports for 9.4 billion US dollars);
• 13th place in the world by market capitalization of the pharmaceutical industry (total 25.3 trillion SKW);
• 11th place in the world in the development of new drugs (approved by the FDA);
• 5th place in the world in terms of performed clinical tests.