Committing To Drug Development In World's Biggest Market: SK's Story

South Korean companies are seeking diverse ways to enter global drug markets, and SK Biopharmaceuticals is leading the way by establishing physical R&D and commercial operations in the US to progress its CNS drug pipeline. Executives of SK Life Science, the US subsidiary of SK Biopharmaceuticals, talk to Scrip about why they are committed to developing drugs in the US and what advantages and challenges they have by establishing a footprint in this key market.

US/South Korea flags • Source: Shutterstock

With more and more South Korean pharma and biotech companies increasingly turning their eyes to global markets to seek growth and opportunities, SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.is at the forefront of this push, taking a step further by establishing physical R&D and commercial organizations in the US with a focus on progressing a broad range of innovative CNS therapies from its pipeline, both in partnerships and alone.

Established in 1993, its US subsidiary SK Life Science Inc. has already initiated 16 Investigational New Drug (IND) applications with...