"The next five years must go beyond being satisfied with simple early-stage out-licensing. It is time to show true 'globalization' by discussing a completely different-level business model from global big pharma and taking part in joint development."Lee Sang-hoon, ABL Bio CEO
"This is not a problem that can be solved by changing a single field or one specific policy. For Korea's biotech to reach a truly global level, every member of the ecosystem—biotech and investors, traditional pharmaceutical companies and distribution networks—must all move up a level together."Lee Jae-joon, Ildong Pharmaceutical CEO
"Korea is already the innovation axis of Asia, but the limits of capital scale and industrial structure are still ongoing."
On the 23rd (local time), at 'Bio USA,' the first-ever session spotlighting Korea's industry echoed more with painful self-reflection than lavish praise.
Domestic and international experts agreed that Korea has grown into a global innovation hub, but offered a sober assessment that it will eventually be left behind if it fails to innovate its outdated capital ecosystem and rigid structures.
◇ The differentiated 'Korean first' as a weapon from the 'China-style fast'
Global pharmaceutical industry leaders on the panel cited Korea's rapid execution and its drive toward first-in-class new drugs as strengths of the Korean biotech industry.
Vice President James Choi of Samsung Biologics said, "Samsung Biologics is building large-scale facilities 40% faster than the industry average based on advanced infrastructure and supply chains," adding, "The overwhelming speed of bringing plants online within 24 months of groundbreaking is a key competitive edge that attracts global clients." The company recently acquired a facility in Rockville, U.S., and is also pursuing diversification of its global supply chain.
Vice President Scott Dwyer of C. H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. KG said, "Korean corporations possess the boldness and entrepreneurship to jump into innovative new drug development," adding, "The fact that C. H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. KG placed dedicated staff in Korea and signed more than six major deals with Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Yuhan, and others is also based on confidence in this technological prowess."
Director (Public & International Affairs) Hwang Jurie of the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization, citing a McKinsey report, said, "Korea has more than 3,000 pipelines, and ranks at the top globally in pipelines per capita."
The panel particularly emphasized differentiated positioning from China's biotech industry. Director Hwang analyzed, "China, backed by massive capital and a powerful patient pool, pursues a 'fast follower' strategy targeting common indications, while Korea is nimbly targeting less-competitive niche markets and first-in-class assets."
ABL Bio CEO Lee Sang-hoon also added, "Chinese corporations place extreme importance on retaining commercialization rights at home, but Korea's domestic market is only about 1% of the global market, so being ready to transfer 100% of the rights to global big pharma for collaboration is another strength."
◇ Uniform IPO preference and rigid structures are holding back growth
There were also calls to improve the rigid capital structure and uniform exit strategies for Korea's biotech ecosystem to advance to the next level. Observers said the current environment's focus on initial public offerings (IPOs) may hinder the industry's dynamism.
Kuk Chan-woo, chief investment officer (CIO) at KB Investment, pointed to the link between domestic biotechs' tendency toward high valuations and their exit structures.
CIO Kuk said, "Korean biotech corporations generally tend to want higher valuations," explaining, "This is tied to a market environment where most investors prefer exits through IPOs rather than mergers and acquisitions (M&A)." This structure, the analysis goes, leads founders and management to cling to their equity and, as a result, creates a gap with global capital.
Ildong Pharmaceutical CEO Lee Jae-joon offered more direct criticism of the domestic investment industry's uniform preference for IPOs.
Lee said, "It is the cold reality that 99% of domestic venture capital (VC) wants only the IPO process," adding, "Even if there is a very clean biotech with no post-merger integration (PMI) burden and a preclinical first-in-class asset, investors openly declare they will only do an IPO, which is breaking flexible M&A or partnership deals."
On current policies, Lee added, "The government's support tends to stay on peripheral issues such as shortening U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review timelines," and "It is urgent to move beyond Government speech and prepare a macro, practical roadmap that encompasses investors, pharmaceutical companies, and biotechs."
◇ "Urgent to improve the ecosystem's fundamentals… must be 'flexible' and 'nimble'"
Amid limited capital conditions, domestic corporations are seeking a range of strategic alternatives to strengthen competitiveness.
ABL Bio CEO Lee Sang-hoon assessed, "Korean biotechs have innovative early-stage technologies, but their financial limits are clear compared with competitors such as China, in terms of the funds and development speed to push into clinical trials." To overcome this, ABL Bio has established a subsidiary in California, hired local experts, and is directly conducting phase 1 trials as part of a global localization strategy.
Ildong Pharmaceutical is also expanding strategic flexibility to broaden its pipeline, going beyond conventional approaches to bring in phase 2 assets from Chinese corporations.
Lee said, "In the past, we were somewhat reluctant to collaborate with Chinese biotech corporations due to cultural distance," adding, "But to overcome limits in capital and talent pools, we now must thoroughly benchmark China's growth speed and business models and collaborate one step more closely to survive on the global stage."
Experts agreed that for Korea's biotech industry to establish itself as a true innovation hub of Asia, the ecosystem's overall fundamentals must be improved. Their advice was that corporations, investors, and the government all need to be flexible and nimble so that pipeline rationalization according to market logic and active M&A centered on high-quality companies can take off.
The session wrapped with a pledge for the future of Korea's biotech five years from now. Joshua Berlin, head of corporate alliances and business development at BioCentury, who chaired the session, said, "Today we held an unvarnished discussion on the light and shadow of Korea's biotech," adding, "Let's meet here again on June 2031 and see how much of today's outlook has become reality."