[THE INVESTOR] Exports by Korean pharmaceutical companies grew by 22 percent in 2015 from 2014, the highest on-year increase in five years. 

The export of pharma products in 2015 logged US$ 2.94 billion, as against the previous year’s US$ 2.41 billion, according to the data by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety released on June 29. 

Medicine exports have increased at an annual rate of 14 percent since 2011 when it posted US$ 1.77 billion. 

Broken down by countries, South Korea exported the most medicines to Japan since 2000. In 2015, export amount to Japan was at US$ 495 million, followed by Turkey with US$ 253 million, Hungary with US$ 173 million, China with US$167 million and Vietnam with US$ 138 million. 

Last year, thanks to Celltrion’s biosimilar Remsima and other biomedicines’ success on the global stage, outbound shipments especially increased in European countries. 

Exports to Hungary increased by 1732.3 percent from the previous year, while Switzerland posted US $ 51.9 million, a 437.3 percent increase from the past year. Shipments to Finland came at US$ 48.7 million, up by 191.3 percent, and France at US$ 51.1 million, up by 143.7 percent.

Imports, on the other hand, continued to shrink, decreasing by 5.1 percent on-year to $US 4.94 billion. 

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)