Navigating South Korea ’s Healthcare Paradox

In recent years, we have witnessed an explosion of interest among our pharmaceutical clients in conducting research in South Korea. Some emerging market analysts have suggested a ‘K’ should be added to BRIC, reflecting the country’s burgeoning economic status and its increasingly inclusion in global studies, not just regional Asia Pacific or emerging market studies. Indeed, there is ongoing debate about whether South Korea can still be considered ‘emerging’ as it i s a growing player in the pharmaceutical industry in its own right.   As well as looking at South Korea ’s healthcare outlook in more detail, in this article we also ask why the countries lies at the extremes of two conflicting global health indicators – longest life expectancy and highest suicide rates.   A study published in the  Lancet  in February projected that South Korea will top the global league table of life expectancy by 2030. Life expectancy has seen massive gains, increasing by an average of 3.7 years in females every decade since 1985, and is expected to wrestle first place from long-time frontrunner Japan, which is expected to drop to third place in the coming decades.    Early gains were attributed to a reduction in childhood infection and improved nutrition, but a ‘second wave’ of gains was driven by prolonging the survival of patients living with chronic diseases.  It is noteworthy that South Korea has not experienced the ‘obesity epidemic’ to the same degree as ...
Source: EyeForPharma - Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Source Type: news