South Korea
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Fast Facts
South Korea offers world-class infrastructure in a politically stable environment, right next to one of the world’s largest economies, China. It is fast becoming a hub for clinical trials in Asia.
- Homogenous and highly centralized Korean population
- Strong and efficient regulatory environment
- Increasing use of English among population
- World-class technological infrastructure.
Health Trends
With the growth of its economy into an Asian powerhouse, South Korea’s life expectancy has increased dramatically over the past 30 years. This aging population, combined with poor air quality and high smoking rates, has produced a high prevalence of chronic diseases.
High prevalence diseases include:
- Cancer
- Respiratory problems
- Non-communicable diseases
- Heart disease.
Clinical Trial Landscape
South Korea hosts an increasing number of educated and English proficient medical professionals.
Clinical trials are regulated by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) and reviewed by local IRBs, who comply with ICH-GCP standards.
The average timeline for regulatory and IRB approval is ~4-5 months.
Market Snapshot
49 million people
83.2% reside in urban centers
97.9% literacy rate
- Novotech opened its first South Korean contract research organization (CRO) office in 2007
Why choose South Korea for clinical research?
There are many compelling reasons to consider contract research organizations in South Korea for your clinical research:
- Concentrated patient population in and around Seoul
- Transparent review timelines between IRB and Korean MFDS
- High standards of GCP
- Low operational costs (no charge for KFDA submission)
- Good IT infrastructure and knowledge of IT
- High quality medical services.
