Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said Thursday that the government will select 200 bio and pharmaceutical companies by 2030 and help them grow enough to compete on the global stage.
Han made the remark at a national policy coordination meeting held at a Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp. factory in the central city of Cheonan, stressing that South Korea should identify and foster innovative firms armed with new technologies and ideas.
She said 50 "frontier" companies will be selected every year by 2030 and the government will provide them with "support for research, development and investment at each stage of growth from the development of candidate substances to clinical trials and commercialization."
The government plans to assign a dedicated director to each selected company to provide customized support for up to five years. It will also inject 150 billion won ($112 million) in policy financing over three years, comprising 60 billion won in investments through banks specializing in research and development (R&D) and 90 billion won in guarantees from the Korea Technology Finance Corporation. (Yonhap)
