KDDF pivots to strict management to spawn global blockbuster

The Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF) has announced a strategic pivot for its second phase of operations starting in 2026, shifting from a focus on quantity to a rigorous strict performance management system.

The announcement was made during the 2025 KDDF Excellent Project Presentation held at the Fairmont Ambassador Seoul on Tuesday. The event served a dual purpose -- to review the achievements of the fund's first phase (2021–2025) and to unveil the aggressive roadmap for the next five years.

Kim Sun-nam, chief scientific officer of the R&D division at KDDF, outlined the new direction, emphasizing that merely completing a project will no longer be sufficient.

Kim stated that the fund is moving to a portfolio management system where low-probability projects are discontinued early, allowing resources to be concentrated on high-potential candidates.

Under the second phase plan, the standards for meeting development milestones will be significantly raised. Projects in the hit-discovery and lead-optimization stages will now require a milestone achievement rate of over 75 percent.

The KDDF has set specific quantitative targets to be achieved by 2030. The primary objective is creating at least one global blockbuster drug with over 1 trillion won ($677.9 million) in annual sales. Additionally, the fund aims to secure cumulative approvals for four new drugs from major regulatory bodies like the U.S. FDA or the European EMA, and to achieve 54 global technology transfer deals valued at over 20 billion won each.

The 2026 budget has been increased, with plans to select approximately 130 new projects. The fund will prioritize AI-driven drug discovery that goes beyond theoretical research to practical application, as well as platform-based technologies.

→ Read the full article on [Korea Biomedical Review]