A number of global companies in electronics, materials, chemicals and offshore business are relocating their regional head offices or research and development facilities to Korea in light of its technological prowess and growth potential.

Now, with the Korean government investing heavily in biosimilars as one of the country’s 10 future growth engines, the market’s importance is growing for multinational pharmaceutical firms such as Bristol-Myers Squibb Company as well.

“The Korean government’s policy to foster the biosimilar industry is one of the reasons BMS placed key people here,” Jordan Ter, the new head of BMS Pharmaceutical Korea who also oversees activities in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore, said in an interview with The Korea Herald.

“It is good (for the Korean government) to have that direction, but what is more important is the steps to get there ― the kind of research, infrastructure, capabilities and partnerships that are required to create a positive investment environment, encourage more multinationals to come to Korea and do more R&D here.”

BMS is a biopharma company known for the industry’s most productive pipeline that focuses on innovative products in therapeutic areas.

It is a typical biopharma firm that stays focused on certain areas in contrast to big pharmaceutical companies that spread themselves thinly over a variety of products.

Ter, who previously worked in other pharmaceutical firms including MSD, joined BMS because of its focused and innovative pipeline.

BMS invested $3.8 billion in R&D in 2011 and has helped bring to market 13 innovative medicines to treat cancer, serious mental illness, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease and diabetes over the past decade.

BMS conducted around a fifth of its 200 clinical trials in Korea in 2011, and has expanded the share of phase 1 and 2 trials in a bid to transfer more pharmaceutical and medical know-how to the country.

“We are getting deeper into research on diabetes,” Ter said.

“Diabetes has become an epidemic as lifestyles change, countries develop and people adopt sedentary lifestyles. As more people are used to eating out, their diet changes as well. Incidence of diabetes is going up in Korea as it is an aging society.”

BMS introduced Onglyza, a new class of medicine called DPP-4 inhibitors that helps manage diabetes and is widely used by Korean hospitals.

BMS also has one of the bestselling medicines in Korea for hepatitis called Baraclude.

The high quality of health care in Korea is one of the things that make the country a very attractive market for BMS, said Ter.

“I personally had a chance to experience the high efficiency and quality of Korean health care as a bone got stuck in my throat during my visit to Seoul just before joining BMS,” he said.

“My flight was leaving in four hours, and the hospital’s system was so efficient that it took less than two hours for the doctor to see me, remove the bone and check me out.”

Koreans have access to excellent health care, good medicine and great doctors at reasonable costs, and it would be a challenge for the government to maintain this kind of quality and efficiency through cooperation with the industry, he added.

Ranking around 10th in sales among global pharmaceutical firms with rivals including MSD and Novatis, BMS revenue in Korea has continued to show double-digit growth. It grew 31 percent in 2011 and 25 percent in 2012 partly thanks to the growing market for hepatitis B treatment.

The Malaysian native who grew up in Australia and initially worked as a microbiologist at a hospital joined the pharmaceutical industry as a sales rep and worked his way up to cover everything in the commerce division.

Over the past 26 years, he has worked in nine countries in Asia including Taiwan and Thailand.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)