To Focus on New Drugs and Biotech
Dong-A ST, a pharmaceutical affiliate of Dong-A Socio Group, has drastically revamped its R&D (R&D) organization. It created a biotech lab and introduced a team system to its new drug lab to speed up the pace of research.
"The reform is intended to expand the company’s research domain from synthetic drugs to biotechnology and enhance competitiveness," a company official said.
The Bio-Tech Research Institute was opened in April at the Biopharmaceutical Research Institute completed in Songdo International City. It has begun its full-fledged activities. Now, it will create synergies with the bio-tech production organization DM Bio which had already established itself in Songdo International City. Dong-A ST is also building a 15,000-square-meter pharmaceutical manufacturing facility near the institute for completion next year.
Aside from the addition of the Bio-Tech Research Institute to the Biopharmaceutical Research Institute, the New Drug Research Institute has also been reorganized. The New Drug Research Institute restructured itself from five offices to four offices and 11 teams. It has become a task-oriented team-by-team organization. It is a stepping stone to increasing the organization’s concentration and speed in carrying out research tasks.
In line with the overall reorganization of the research organization, the number of researchers has soared. As of the end of March 2021, the research headquarters had a total of 213 personnel. Compared to the end of December 2020, the figure has grown 45 percent or by 67 personnel. First of all, the Bio-tech Research Institute has been organized to have 57 people. The New Drug Research Institute has increased the number of its personnel by about 10 percent to 91 from 2020.