'BIO KOREA 2024' begins

The Future of Biotechnology Innovation and Global Collaboration

BIO KOREA will be held on May 8-10 for three days at Coex, Seoul

'BIO KOREA 2024' will be held on May 8-May10 for three days at Coex, Seoul.

 

The conference is co-organized by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (President Soon-do Cha, referred to as KHIDI) and Chungcheongbuk-do Province (Mayor Young Hwan Kim, referred to as Chungbuk), and sponsored by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW).

 

Celebrating its 19th convention this year, BIO KOREA started back in 2006 with the participation of 300 companies from 20 countries.

 

The number of participants has more than doubled, and by 2024, it reached 600 companies from 50 countries.

 

BIO KOREA became the international bio-health convention representing South Korea.

 

The theme for BIO KOREA 2024 is "The Future of Biotechnology Innovation and Global Collaboration." The convention aims to share the latest trends and prospects of innovative technologies in the bio-health industry and provide opportunities for business collaboration among global companies, institutions, researchers, and investors.

 

Various programs will be organized for three days, including Business Partnering, Invest Fair, Exhibition, and Conference.

 

This year, 640 companies from 55 countries are participating.

 

At Business Partnering, Korean and foreign companies, including global pharmaceutical companies, participate in one-on-one business meetings to discover new partners with promising technologies, discuss technology collaboration and joint research, technology transfer, and investment.

 

Of note, Global companies, including Eli Lilly, Takeda, Merck, MSD (Sharp & Dohme), Sanofi, Roche, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Johnson & Johnson, and companies representing the biopharma industry in South Korea, such as SK Bioscience, ST Pharm, GC Corp, Yuhan, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Handok, and Dong Wha Pharm, are participating.

 

At Invest Fair, equity firms utilizing K-BIO mega funds and global investors will share the prospects of the bio-health industry in South Korea and present the industry’s potential for growth.

 

Experts from various companies will participate in presentations and panel sessions.

 

The participants include Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation’s Melinda Richter, ARCH Venture Partners’s Ari Nowacek, Teralys Capital’s Cedric Bisson, Kurma Partners’ Daniel Parera, Yuanta Asia Investment’s ChiaYen Lo Sam.

 

A session focusing on the successful attraction of foreign investment cases by domestic bio-innovation startups is also planned.

 

This session aims to enhance understanding of investment value and global collaboration in the Korean biotech industry and explore strategies for commercializing innovative technologies.

 

This year, participation from national delegations has expanded compared to the previous year, with 81 companies from 10 countries, including Australia, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany, set to showcase their promising technologies and engage in exchanges with interested companies in South Korea.

 

Thirty-eight companies from fields such as CDMO, CRO, and microbiome are participating at the Australian Embassy in Seoul booth.

 

Additionally, at the Nordic booth jointly operated by the Swedish Trade and Invest Council and the Danish Embassy in Korea, 13 companies specializing in CRO, vaccines, and drug development are participating.

 

In addition, local companies will participate at the booths of the British Embassy in Seoul, BioCom California in the United States, and the state of Bavaria in Germany to promote their outstanding technologies and engage in business exchanges with domestic companies.

 

At the conference, 71 speakers from 9 countries who are experts in the bio-health industry in South Korea and foreign countries.

 

Speakers will participate in 11 sessions discussing 10 topics, including Drug Discovery Platform, Diabetes-Obesity Treatment, Cancer Vaccine, and Global Open Innovation.

 

On May 9th, a special session called 'New Drug Modality Development Strategies' will be held.

 

In this session, speakers will share the latest strategies for the development of new modality drugs, such as Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC), Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD), and Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT).

 

They will also discuss cases of global cooperation.

 

The speakers for the session include Zheru Zhang of WuXiBiologics, Mikio Kasahara of Roche, and Dr.

 

Ulf bethke of Miltenyi Biotec.

 

Following the session, some Korean companies, such as PINOTBIO and AbTis, will give pitch talks.

 

They will showcase promising technologies developed by these Korean companies and discuss development strategies.

 

KHIDI’s President Soon-do Cha said, "We hope that BIO KOREA will provide the opportunity for the domestic and foreign companies, institutions, and researchers in the bio-health industry to converge and discuss business strategies and collaboration.” He added, “We also hope that outstanding technology developed in South Korea will enter the global market through global partnership.” More convention details are available on the BIO KOREA 2024 website (www.biokorea.org).

 

Additionally, people who have not pre-registered but wish to attend the convention can still register at the registration booth set up at Coex during the convention.