ID :
65783
Mon, 06/15/2009 - 09:23
Auther :

French drugmaker seeks S. Korean R&D partnership


By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, June 15 (Yonhap) -- A leading French pharmaceutical company aims to
establish a local research and development (R&D) partnership within the year that
could benefit South Korea's healthcare-biotech industry, the government said
Monday.

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Sanofi-Aventis plans to select a local
investment partner that best meets its R&D requirements by December.
"South Korea is fast becoming a global testbed for pharmaceutical products that
conform to the French company's strategy for future healthcare technology
development," said Kim Dong-soo, head of the ministry's investment bureau.
The size of the proposed investment has not been disclosed, although it is
expected to be in areas related to research on the cardiovascular and central
nervous system, as well as diabetes, internal medicine, oncology, thrombosis
research and development of vaccines.
The Paris-based company is Europe's largest healthcare provider and the fourth
largest in the world with combined sales reaching 27.5 billion euros (US$38.4
billion) in 2008. It is also the largest producer of vaccines through its
subsidiary Sanofi Pasteur with roughly 100,000 employees in 100 countries.
The ministry said Sanofi-Aventis will outline its goals at the Global Alliance
Project gathering planned for Tuesday, with interested companies required to
submit their applications from July through November.
The plan is significant because the company relies on foreign laboratory
partnerships to provide it with roughly 25 percent of its R&D work, the ministry
said. In the past Sanofi-Aventis did not invest in South Korea, focusing instead
on Japan and China.
Seoul said earlier in the year that it wants to attract up to US$12.5 billion
worth of FDI this year, with the total standing at around $3.6 billion as of late
last month, or a 0.5 percent gain from the same five month period last year.
In the first quarter, inbound FDI plunged 38.2 percent on-year to just $1.6
billion as companies around the world cut back on investments.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)


X