South Korea is proactively seeking to establish itself as the world's leading biotech economy. In the past two months, the government has introduced a series of policies aimed at promoting its bioindustry. It is pushing to designate biopharmaceutical manufacturing as a key national strategic technology, with the goal of increasing the sector's production capacity to 100 trillion won and doubling the export value of biohealth and pharmaceuticals by 2030.
As South Korea forges its path in biotech, what challenges and opportunities lie ahead for the nation and its players?
We sat down with Journey Hong, Korea General Manager of West Pharmaceuticals Services, the world's leading provider of innovative, high-quality injectable solutions and services. In an interview, he shares his on-the-ground insights and perspectives on Korea's biopharma and biologics sector. Here's a Q&A with Hong.
Q: The opportunities and challenges facing Korean biotech and biopharma companies in a dynamic global market
Most of the South Korean pharmaceutical market is driven by the biologics sector, while generic medicines and therapies make up the remaining portion. The lead of biologics is only set to grow, especially as the government fields more support to foster the growth of the industry – with the aim to raise the production capacity to 100 trillion won and doubling export values by 2030.
Through the support rendered by the authorities, additional investments will allow more new players to come into the market, and current players in the South Korean market will have a better chance to grow competitively within the APAC region as well.
However, for many Korean pharmaceutical companies, the ambitious plans by the government will lead to an increase in demand from customers, while not compromising on quality. Companies must rise to this challenge and ensure that proper quality control is maintained. Consistent research and development will be needed, and companies must be prepared to keep building their production pipelines to meet customers requirements.
While Korean biotech and biopharma companies meet these increasing expectations, they must also ensure that fulfillment is met. Being able to manage deliveries and overcome supply chain disruptions continues to be a challenge. Key interventions are needed by all stakeholders to overcome any potential disruptions, as the South Korean market embarks on a growth trajectory.
A clear understanding of how containment solutions work, with the right long-term forecasting tools, will help to ease this fulfillment pressure. Businesses should invest time to learn about lead times of delivery, how containment solutions match certain types of drugs, and the regulatory complications that impact fulfillment.
Korean biopharma companies that neglect issues such as fulfillment and demand expectations risk losing trust and market share.
Q: Key differentiators that set Korea apart from the global biopharma and biosimilars landscape
Within the larger global biopharma and biosimilars landscape, Korea stands out in terms of our strength in biologics and biosimilars. Over the years, it has cemented its place as one of the most promising markets where pharmaceutical companies have identified huge investment potentials for R&D processes, even though the country established its presence in biologics later than markets like India or China.
Favorable government and business-conducive environments that support tax concessions, cash grants, site location support, etc., have paved the growth trajectory way for the South Korean biosimilar market. At the same time, locally developed biosimilars are steadily gaining a larger market share in the Korean pharmaceutical sector. In particular, Korea stands out within the Botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT-A)market, with competitive prices, a large number of manufacturers, and a large regional customer pool.
Lastly, owing to Korea’s unrelenting focus on high-quality biologics, it has earned the industry's trust to innovate, manufacture and deliver cutting-edge medicines.
Q: Lessons learned from other countries leading the biotech industries.
South Korea is paving its own path in the biotech industry, but there are still opportunities to grow. Mature markets such as the USA and China that boast strong biotech knowledge and talent have set some examples to adapt and learn from.
Across companies in these markets, the speed and flexibility to embrace industry trends and changing business models are strong factors to success. As more treatments emerge and societal needs change, it is imperative to understand evolving patient needs and find solutions that cater to them. The pandemic was a learning experience where most thriving businesses had to pivot strategies and find innovative solutions.
The biotech world does not exist in a silo. Collaboration and partnerships between different stakeholders are gateways to drive innovation and development, even when abroad. West has had the opportunity to deliver more impactful solutions with our strong partnerships, like Corning, learning from countries that have done well.
Lastly, close partnerships with regulators also contribute to success. As the quality standards of bioinjectables and treatments increase, it is more important than ever to keep a stringent check on quality standards and regulatory compliance to bring forward the right solutions and products. Doing so will also help build trust with the key stakeholders and lay a strong foundation for growth.
Q: West’s strategic plans to enhance its Korean presence in response to emerging market trends
At the moment, our team in Korea is serving our customers through a multi-functional space that combines our commercial staff with our warehouse. To better optimize our operations and support our growth, we are considering an expansion of both team size and warehouse capability to better serve our customers.
Having more spaces where we can meet and serve our customers through physical interactions and training sessions will be especially helpful to our customers. As more companies enter the biologics and biomanufacturing sector, they may also require more support in understanding the regulatory guidelines for containment services and we are always happy to help them navigate this space.
As we continue to nurture our people’s capabilities and operations through new training and onboarding of the latest technological systems, we stay committed and focused on our customers and the patients that we jointly serve.
Q: What is the role of West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. (WST) in paving the way for biotechnology in Korea?
So long as any patient has ever been vaccinated, they would have probably come into contact with a West product. Today, West is a leading provider of innovative, high-quality injectable solutions and services, serving patients around the world.
In Korea, we have been serving customers and patients since the 1980s. After we expanded our South Korean footprint further in 2019, we made additional investments and experienced significant growth in the market. Currently, we hold a strong reputable position within the growing Korean pharmaceutical space, especially on biologics.
During the pandemic, due to our reputation for quality and our ability to meet the supply needs of our customers through our global network, on top of our ability to flex our operations, we were able to partner with many customers to assist their vaccine needs. We currently specialize in bringing our High-Value Products (HVP) to benefit customers within South Korea and ultimately patients around the world, as our presence in Korea is also a logistics hub for the West.
As a leader in the biopharma space, we want to set industry standards for delivering the best services to our customers. This means focusing our attention on the right type of product for our customers and understanding their needs and value propositions to build trust and meet their requirements.
Stringent internal checks to ensure operations are of the highest industry standards are also needed to adapt to change and unexpected needs. West ensures that we are constantly innovating and applying the most updated, cutting-edge technologies to our products, which we believe will strengthen West’s offerings to support our customers. At the same time, West also wants to lead by example by working with regulatory parties to obtain their support, in line with the policy environment. This will help establish a strong foundation to deliver products needed by the market.
At the end of the day, West remains committed to supporting our talented workforce by offering exciting career and upskilling opportunities, that will contribute to the overall growth and enhancement of the healthcare and biotech industry in Korea.
Q: What is the purpose and expected impact of CPHI Korea?
Over the years, CPHI has cemented its place as one of the most important pharma events in the region and is now widely recognized as a leading indicator of industry prospects in the region. It is the perfect platform for West and other companies to have insightful conversations with valued customers and partners and explore opportunities for the Korean pharmaceutical industry.
The event reinstates the increasing importance of the Korean market in the pharmaceuticals and healthcare sector and the role it plays in enabling international and domestic business.
It is also a perfect platform for contract development and manufacturing organizations, and bio companies to bolster their supply networks across the region, better understand the needs of their customers, discuss the opportunities for growth as well and deliberate on overcoming potential challenges.
