Korean biopharmaceuticals are rapidly raising their profile in the global market. As new drug development worldwide shifts from chemically synthesized medicines to biopharmaceuticals, Korea is expanding its influence by climbing to third place in the research and development pipeline after the United States and China.
According to materials compiled on the 26th by the KoreaBio Bio Economy Research Center from the "Pharma R&D Annual Review 2026" by global pharmaceutical industry data analytics firm CITELINE, as of 2026, Korea's share of the drug pipeline stands at 14.2%, the third highest after the United States and China.
The United States held more than 50% of the total to remain No. 1, and China ranked second at 31.1%. They were followed by the United Kingdom (13.8%), Germany (11.2%), and Japan (10.2%).
The report said, "Korea has long been categorized as a country focused on modified new drugs, but recently the share of new drug research and development has expanded rapidly, and it is notable for having more pipelines than Japan."
With the global drug development structure clearly reorganizing around biopharmaceuticals this year, some say the growth potential for Korea's bio industry is expanding further.
For the first time ever, biopharmaceuticals account for 50.1% of the global drug pipeline this year, surpassing chemically synthesized medicines (chemical). Just 30 years ago, the structure was overwhelmingly in favor of chemical drugs at 85 to 15, but that has completely flipped. As monoclonal antibodies lead rapid growth in antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and cell and gene therapies (CGTs), the shift to a bio-centered structure is accelerating.
Korean bio corporations are also expanding their research and development base. In Korea, 426 pharmaceutical and bio corporations are engaged in new drug development, with Daewoong Pharmaceutical holding the largest number of pipelines. Dong-A ST, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Celltrion, Chong Kun Dang pharmaceutical, Addpharma, GC Biopharma, JW Pharmaceutical, SK, and Kolmar Korea Co. are cited as major developers.
By therapeutic area, development is most active in lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, type 2 diabetes, and gastric cancer, with research expanding into Alzheimer's disease, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, liver cancer, and prostate cancer.
Changes are also evident in global trade. According to European Union (UN) trade statistics data (UN Comtrade), in 2025, the United States sourced 2.31% of its pharmaceutical imports from Korea, up 0.44 percentage points from the previous year (1.87%). Korea's country ranking climbed three spots from 16th to 13th.
Notably, 95.75% of the pharmaceuticals the United States imports from Korea are biopharmaceuticals, meaning Korea's pharmaceutical exports to the United States are effectively centered on bio. On a biopharmaceutical basis, Korea's share of total U.S. imports also expanded from 3.43% in 2024 to 4.31% in 2025, rising to eighth place.
With a simultaneous move into the upper ranks of global R&D and expanded bio exports to the U.S. market, K-bio is increasing its presence on both the research and development and trade fronts.
Meanwhile, the overall size of the global pipeline has decreased somewhat, but qualitative changes are clear. As of January 2026, the global drug pipeline stands at 22,940, down 3.92% from a year earlier. The decline reflects a 14% drop in preclinical candidates.
Clinical stages, by contrast, have increased. Phase 1 rose 2.7%, Phase 2 rose 9.1%, and Phase 3 rose 8.8%. In particular, the Phase 3 pipeline, which had been stagnant, has returned to growth, indicating that late-stage development is strengthening.
This suggests corporations are concentrating research and development resources on clinical stages—especially late stages—rather than early discovery. The interpretation is that the likelihood of translating pipeline expansion into actual new drug launches is increasing, rather than simply growing the pipeline.