Korean pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations will participate in the world's largest biotech fair, the 'Bio International Convention (BioUSA) 2025', which will be held in Boston, USA, from the 16th to the 19th (local time). Organized by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, BioUSA is the largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology exhibition in the world, held annually in June across U.S. bio clusters. Every year, approximately 9,000 companies and over 20,000 participants gather from around 90 countries.
The theme of this year's event is 'The World Can't Wait.' The organizers explained that this signifies the rapid changes in the global biotech industry. This year, over 80 domestic corporations will participate in BioUSA, attracting overseas customers and seeking technology exports. This marks the largest participation to date, indicating that K-Bio is finding growth momentum in the global market.
15 corporations, including Samsung Biologics, Celltrion, SK bioscience, Lotte Biologics, Dong-A Socio Holdings, Prestige Biopharma, EuBiologics, and Inventage Lab, will operate individual booths. Supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korean Pavilion, co-managed by the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), has been expanded to a record size of 560 square meters (169 pyeong) with participation from 51 corporations. There are also companies participating without booths who will take part in presentation sessions.
◇Chinese gap targeted by CDMO companies
In previous years, CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) companies have stood out at BioUSA. This event is expected to see fierce competition among CDMO corporations to secure clients and win contracts for contract manufacturing.
Wuxi Biologics, the largest CDMO corporation in China, will not participate this year due to the ongoing U.S.-China tensions, just as it did last year. Competitors are looking to exploit Wuxi's crisis as a new business opportunity. Representative CDMO companies include Samsung Biologics, Celltrion, Lotte Biologics, Switzerland's Lonza, Thermo Fisher Scientific from the U.S., Catalent, and Japan's Fujifilm Diosynth.
The CDMO for biopharmaceuticals is a business that develops biopharmaceuticals commissioned by clients and takes care of production through preclinical and clinical trials. As the market shifts from chemical synthetic drugs to biopharmaceuticals, demand is increasing.
SK bioscience also entered the CDMO market last year by acquiring the German company IDT Biologika. The company plans to showcase its CDMO technological capabilities and expertise at this year's BioUSA. ENCell is preparing to win contracts for cell and gene therapies and adeno-associated virus (AAV) CDMO services. KOLON Life Science's subsidiary, KOLON Biotech, which is expanding its CDMO business, is also scheduled to meet with overseas clients at the event.
According to the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization and market research firm Frost & Sullivan, the global biopharmaceutical CDMO market is expected to grow from $19.68 billion (approximately 27 trillion won) in 2023 to $43.85 billion (60 trillion won) by 2029, with an annual growth rate of 14.3%.
◇Competition for next-generation biopharmaceutical technologies intensifies
Domestic corporations aiming for new drug technology exports are also participating. Celltrion, which previously focused on the biosimilar business at BioUSA, is expected to concentrate this year on showcasing its competitive edge in developing next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and new antibody drugs. ADCs are a therapeutic technique that attaches drugs to antibodies to deliver them precisely to cancer cells.
Celltrion received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the phase 1 clinical trial plan (IND) of its next-generation ADC candidate, CT-P70, in March. It stated that follow-up multi-antibody and ADC drugs, including CT-P71 and CT-P72, are undergoing IND approval procedures, aiming to develop 13 new drug candidates in the ADC and multi-antibody fields by 2028.
Cell and gene therapies developed by domestic companies will also be extensively introduced. These third-generation biopharmaceuticals fundamentally treat diseases by modifying or altering the patient's genes or cells. They are considered key to treating difficult-to-treat and rare diseases, as their mechanisms of action differ completely from existing drugs.
KOLON Life Science announced that it will promote its major pipelines, including KLS-2031, a gene therapy for neuropathic pain, and KLS-3021, a gene therapy for cancer, while proceeding with technology export negotiations with global pharmaceutical companies.
Kolon TissueGene announced that it will present the status of its TG-C cell and gene therapy for osteoarthritis development at the event. The company previously stated that TG-C had demonstrated consistent efficacy in clinical trials in Korea and the U.S.
ABL Bio plans to seek additional partnership opportunities with its independently developed drug delivery technology. The company transferred its 'Grabody-B' technology, which delivers drugs to the brain by passing through the blood-brain barrier, to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in the U.K. for a deal worth up to 4 trillion won in April.
Pharos iBio, a company specializing in AI-based new drug development, plans to share research results of its next-generation acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treatment candidate PHI-101 and solid tumor treatment candidate PHI-501 with global companies.
Samjin pharm, Huons Lab, GI Innovation, Curocell, and others will introduce their major pipelines through corporate presentation sessions. Yuhan Corporation, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, LG CHEM, GC Biopharma, Chong Kun Dang, and others are expected to send staff to meet with global corporations without separate booths.
Last year, the number of participants from Korea was over 1,300, making it the second largest group following the U.S. This year, the number of participating corporations and one-on-one partnering meeting counts are expected to increase. Business meetings are likely to evolve into discussions that require confidentiality, prompting changes to the management structure of the Korean Pavilion. According to the Biotechnology Industry Organization, this year's Korean Pavilion will partially consist of closed partnering consultation rooms in response to the demands of participating corporations instead of operating fully open.