Trade, Industry and Energy 1st Vice Minister Jang Young-jin attended the Bioplus-Interphex (International Pharmaceutical and Manufacturing Expo) Korea 2022 opening ceremony at COEX in Seoul on August 3, co-hosted by the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization and Reed Exhibitions.

Bioplus-Interphex Korea 2022 will be running a total of 350 booths showcasing various products from biomedical, digital, healthcare and such various areas and involve the participation of approximately 1,200 companies from 12 countries, including the U.S. and Germany. This is the first in-person Bioplus-Interphex 2022 hosted in Seoul following the on-line version convened in 2020.

The conference will consist of 40 sessions led by 120 speakers on the following four topics: 1) Hot Tech 2) Industry Insights 3) Corporate Management and 4) Value Chain.

The Vice Minister assessed that South Korea’s biomedical manufacturing competitiveness and digital technology are the driving forces empowering “K-Bio”’s global status, and remarked that foreign investment in domestic companies have more than doubled as of 2021 when compared with the last five years’ average.

He added that Korea can further scale up as a global bio-health powerhouse when public and private entities join hands to concentrate investment in capable areas like synthetic biology and high-tech bio. Not only that, but digital healthcare is another newly rising arena of heated competition for global innovation, so a new business model and market penetration are critical items on Korea’s to-do list.

In this regard, the Korean government announced measures to support corporate investment and private sector innovation efforts, mainly through the following four programs.

One, starting next year, large-sized companies will have their tax deduction rate for national strategic technologies facilities investment upgraded to 8 percent from the original 6 percent to match the deduction rate granted to middle-market companies. This will invariably assist private investments led by large corporations.

Two, the Government intends to devise projects for large-scale technology and infrastructure development to digitalize bio production processes and access technologies in high-tech bio and synthetic biology areas.

Three, as MPE (materials, parts, equipment) technologies are relatively more dependent on external factors, raising competitiveness is key. Moreover, the scope of bio industry professionals train-up will be extensively expanded in step with increasing private investment.

Four, the Ministry will make joint efforts with relevant ministries to resolve regulation issues impeding the digital healthcare industry’s growth, while also making plans to establish large-scale demonstration infrastructure for testing new services and business models.

The Bioplus-Interphex Korea 2022 program is scheduled through August 3-5, ending on Friday this week.