Clinical Trial Data Highlight Korean Pharma’s R&D Shift Into Innovation

New clinical trial approval data show that early-stage studies of novel drug candidates by South Korean pharma and biotech firms sharply increased in 2018, underlining the industry’s ongoing shift towards innovation. Trials of oncology drugs continued to dominate, while clinical work in rare disorders such as hemophilia and Crohn’s disease has noticeably increased.

Clinical trials
Increased Early Studies Reflect Korean R&D Efforts • Source: Shutterstock

Amid the South Korean pharma/biotech industry’s robust efforts and improved capabilities to develop novel drugs, approvals of early-stage clinical trials in the country surged by 19% in 2018, new government data show.

Clinical trial approvals granted by the ministry of food and drug safety have steadily increased in the past three years, reflecting the rise in new drug

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