[Reporter’s View] ‘Selection & Focus’ to foster K-Bios

Is the strategy really working?

Is the “selection and focus” strategy really working for Korea’s pharma-bio industry?

The keyword “selection and focus” resurfaced in this year’s National Assembly audit as a core strategy for fostering Korea’s pharmaceutical and bio industry.

 

During the NA audit last month, lawmakers again raised the need for bold investment and full-cycle support for innovative drugs to strengthen Korea’s global competitiveness in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry.

 

In response, Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) President Soon-do Cha outlined the direction, stating, “We will strategically foster medical artificial intelligence (AI) and bio-data.” This signifies the government's emphasis on streamlining R&D efficiency centered on the two pillars of medical AI and bio-data.

 

However, the perspective from the field is slightly different.

 

While policy speaks of concentration, execution remains fragmented.

 

AI, big data, advanced biotechnology, CDMO, vaccine self-sufficiency—all are repeatedly touted as core industries in discussions of the pharmaceutical and biotech sector, with similar slogans endlessly repeated.

 

Consequently, budgets remain scattered across multiple ministries, and the pace of implementation varies widely.

 

This means that while choices are plentiful, there are question marks about whether true focus is actually happening.

 

The problem of lacking a proper control tower has also been a recurring topic for years.

 

The medical AI and bio-data industries mentioned this time may seem like different fields at first glance, but they are closely connected.

 

To harness AI, data infrastructure is essential.

 

The government is pursuing a biobank of one million individuals, and hospitals are building their own data banks.

 

The problem lies in utilization.

 

Differences in linkage standards make analysis difficult even when data is combined, and there are also criticisms that companies spend months navigating access procedures.

 

AI imaging solutions are increasing, but adoption in hospitals remains low.

 

The government opened the regulatory door, but support measures to boost utilization are relatively inadequate.

 

Data and technology are piling up, but the pipelines for their actual use are narrow.

 

The government advocates selection and focus, but criticism follows that actual support is broad but shallow.

 

The government often refers to its data-collection strategy as a “data dam.”  Just as building a dam secures a water source, the data dam aims to prepare data resources for use in the AI era.

 

But building the dam is only half the job — we also need pipelines that allow data to flow and be used.

 

Even considering that government-level policies set the broad framework, the current situation demands clearer prioritization and guaranteed execution.

 

If data fails to flow into industries and medical settings, policy choices lose their meaning.

 

Having established the broad direction at the government level, clear priorities and execution must now follow.

 

If data fails to flow into industries and medical settings, policy choices lose their meaning.

 

During the NA audit, it was noted that as of 2023, the combined R&D investment of the top 10 domestic listed pharmaceutical companies amounted to only approximately KRW 1.3 trillion.

 

This represents a significant gap compared to the KRW 20 trillion invested by global pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J).

 

Considering this, the government's approach of ‘select and focus’ is clearly the right direction.

 

However, for the two pillars of medical AI and bio-data—presented by the state as future industries—to translate into industrial achievements, structural change is needed, not just slogans.

 

Ultimately, the key lies in execution.

 

Policy priorities must be clearly defined, and overlapping projects streamlined.

 

If ‘selection and focus’ remains just a slogan, the industry will lose its direction once again.

 

What is needed now is not a new strategy, but proof of focus demonstrated through action.