For Cooperation in New Drug Development
Global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca will invest 740 billion won (US$630 million) in the Korean bio-health industry for the next five years from 2020 to 2024. Based in Sweden and the United Kingdom, AstraZeneca is the world's 11th largest pharmaceutical company with sales reaching US$22.1 billion in 2018.
AstraZeneca announced its plans to participate in the Korean government's innovation strategy for the bio-health industry at the Korea-Sweden Business Summit held in Stockholm, Sweden on June 14.
AstraZeneca chairman Leif Johansson said, "We will invest in Korea’s bio-health industry for the next five years, which will include investment in tangible and intangible assets, new drug development research cooperation, training of research and development experts, and improvement of healthcare accessibility."
"South Korea has excellent assets, including world-class researchers, in the field of bio-health, and has high growth potential," he added.
AstraZeneca signed a letter of intent with KOTRA and the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization on June 15 at its new biologics production base in Sodertalje, Sweden.
The three-party LOI conclusion included cooperation in open innovation and new drug development, provision of mentoring for biotech ventures and startups, exploration of next-generation medical technologies such as AI and IoT, and cooperation for entry into the global market.