Pharma news briefs from South Korea

The Korean Medical Association declared that unethical business practices regarding drug supplies are not occurring from the ethical issues with doctors, but from the problems in the system itself, reported Medico Pharma News.

They are claiming that the distortion in the drug price setting system causes higher prices of generic drugs and, unethical business practices caused by such a distortion and the neglect of government and pharmaceutical industry are the main cause. The KMA suggested improvement plans, including strictly defining unethical business practices, which were in vague position, that excessively limited the formal sales activities of pharmaceutical companies, and preventing pharmaceutical companies’ unethical business practices.

Becoming the seventh largest Bio-Health industrialized country     

The government has finished organizing public and private consultative body to seek the upbringing policy to foster bio-health industry, reported Daily Pharma. With the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), Bang Moon-Kyu leading the consultative body, a total of 22 people, six from the government, four from related organizations, six from the medical industry, three from research institutes, and three from the academia, will be participating.

There will also be affiliates from related government divisions from MOHW, MSIP, MOTIE, and MFDS, as well as private experts to divide and operate TF works by industries. The consultative body will discuss development plans for main focuses of the bio-health industry, including pharmaceutical industry, precise-regenerative medical industry, and medical device industry, which will lead future industries of Korea.

Promises for active support for overseas expansion of Bio-Health industry

MOHW held the first meeting of the public and private consultative body for cultivation of bio-health industry and emphasized the active supports from the government for the bio-health industry’s expansion to the world, reported the Yakup Shinmoon.

The Vice-Minister of MOHW stated: “The field of bio-health has lots of potentials to be pioneered, and the global bio-health industry is growing rapidly. To bear fruition, the government will make an effort to create the new future growth engine industry by combining capabilities of experts from the industry, the academy, and the field of research.”