Goo Hyeok-chae (구혁채), first vice minister at the Ministry of Science and ICT, held a meeting on Monday at the National New Drug Development Project unit in Mapo district, Seoul. He heard the unit and supported companies’ strategies for generating results.

The visit marked the 21st step in "Project Empathy 118" to implement field-focused science and technology policy. The National New Drug Development Project is a pan-government national research and development programme in which the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Industry Ministry and the Health Ministry support the entire drug development process, from identifying effective substances to Phase 2 clinical trials.

The meeting came after the end of the project’s first phase last year and the launch of its second phase, running from this year through 2030. Participants reviewed progress so far and discussed strategies for future results. Companies receiving support from the programme, including AimedBio, Alteogen, AbClon and CellBion, attended to discuss ways to deliver results.

Goo said, "The National New Drug Development Project has laid the foundation over the past 5 years to raise our country’s new drug development capabilities." He said, "In the second phase, we will further strengthen a performance-oriented support system and actively use AI technology to accelerate innovation in new drug development."