inVentiv Establishes Operation in Korea

inVentiv Health, Inc. has established inVentiv Health Korea, a Seoul-based operation that will provide clinical development and commercial services to healthcare clients.

The Korean operations will provide outsourced sales services through the company’s Selling Solutions segment. The company recently signed an agreement with a top 20 pharmaceutical company to provide medical representatives to promote several of its products in Korea. inVentiv Health Korea is currently providing clinical development services to several pharmaceutical clients through its clinical segment, PharmaNet/i3.

“Our clients are expanding their businesses in Asia and as they do, inVentiv is broadening its geographic reach to meet their outsourcing needs,” said Paul Meister, 0 chief executive officer of inVentiv Health, Inc. “As a $15 billion pharmaceutical market expected to grow by significant margins over the next several years, Korea is an attractive opportunity for us. Not only are our pharmaceutical clients increasingly conducting clinical research in Korea, it is also a market where many leading pharmaceutical brands in the U.S. will be launching in the coming years, creating a growing need for outsourced sales and marketing support. Our move into Korea also reflects our commitment to expanding inVentiv’s best-in-class services into key emerging markets.”

inVentiv Health Korea will be led by Jae-Hee Kim, who will serve as president. Mr. Kim has more than 20 years of executive leadership, new business development, client services, and sales and marketing experience. Prior to his current position, Mr. Kim was a representative director at Enters Partners Co. Ltd., a marketing and consulting company to the pharmaceutical industry. He has also held several senior-level positions with Korean Green Cross Corp, SmithKline Beecham, and Quintiles Transnational.

“Jae-Hee Kim brings a great depth of experience to this role having held senior roles at top pharmaceutical manufacturing companies and within leading service-side healthcare businesses. With unmatched knowledge of the Korean marketplace, Mr. Kim is the ideal candidate to help inVentiv establish a strong presence in this important geography,” said Rick Finnegan, executive vice president, Global Operations, inVentiv Health.