Currently, the 10th largest in the world, the Korean pharmaceutical market was over 8 billion US$ as well as growing about 7%-10% annually (Gross, 2000) However, in term of the pharmaceutical R&D, Korean pharmaceutical sector still lags behind the G7 countries. Base on these facts, the aim of this report analyzes problems of the Korean pharmaceutical R&D between 1995 and 2005. Firstly, this report presents three main causes: 1) low rate of investment from the Korean pharmaceutical companies; 2) Insufficient of research staff; 3) Korean government policy. Furthermore, it also shows the effect such as slow development of local pharmaceutical market and national healthcare budget crisis. Recommendation, which consist of main three solutions provide the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare to solve the pharmaceutical R&D problems. The information is based on sources from Korean government, National healthcare corporations and academic journals.
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