Aside from mixed earnings at major South Korean pharma firms, recent updates across the local industry have included the ongoing leadership dispute at Hanmi Group, the approval and reimbursement of Yuhan’s lazertinib as a first-line NSCLC therapy and the US approval of GC Biopharma’s immuno-globulin product.

As Korean firms report quarterly earnings, Hanmi is stepping up the development of obesity drugs, Daewoong unveils plans to boost sales of in-house new drugs, GC Biopharma’s immunoglobulin undergoes the US approval process and Ildong has set up a new R&D-focused subsidiary.

Korea Health Industry Development Institute President Soon-Do Cha talks to Scrip how the government agency’s support strategy to the domestic biopharma industry may be changing in line with the industry’s increased globalization move and how he views the country’s policy stance should improve going forward to meet its goal of becoming a strong biohealth nation.

As the global economy remains in a slump, even big pharmas such as Novartis and Pfizer are cutting costs. So how should Korean biopharmas adapt to such an environment and move ahead? Korea Drug Development Fund CEO H. Samuel Muk provides some ideas on how domestic players can survive in this new global reality.