"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 business model on a completely different level from global big pharma and joining joint development."Lee Sang-hoon, ABL Bio CEO
"This is not a problem that can be solved by changing a single field or a single policy. For Korea's biotech to reach a truly global level, all members of the ecosystem—biotech companies and investors, traditional pharmaceutical companies and distribution networks—must move up a notch together."Lee Jae-joon, Ildong Pharmaceutical CEO
"Korea is already the innovation axis of Asia, but the limitations of capital scale and industrial structure are still ongoing."
On the 23rd (local time), at 'BioUSA,' the first-ever Korea-focused industry spotlight session resounded more with painful self-reflection than lavish praise.
Domestic and overseas experts agreed that Korea has grown into a global innovation hub, but delivered a sober assessment that it will eventually fall behind if it fails to innovate its outdated capital ecosystem and rigid structures.
◇ The "Korean first," differentiated from the "Chinese fast," is a weapon
Global pharmaceutical industry leaders on the panel cited fast execution and a drive toward first-in-class drugs as strengths of Korea's biotech industry.
James Choi, vice president 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 a plant online within 24 months after groundbreaking is a key competitiveness that attracts global clients." The company recently acquired a facility in Rockville, U.S., and is pursuing diversification of its global supply chain.
Scott Dwyer, vice president of C. H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. KG, said, "Korean corporations have the boldness and entrepreneurial spirit to jump into innovative new drug development," adding, "The fact that C. H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. KG has placed dedicated staff in Korea and signed more than six major deals with Hanmi Pharmaceutical and Yuhan is also based on trust in this technological prowess."
Hwang Ju-ri, Deputy Minister at the Korea Bio Association, citing a McKinsey report, said, "Korea has more than 3,000 pipelines, and ranks No. 1 in the world on a per-capita pipeline basis."
The panel especially emphasized differentiated positioning from China's biotech industry. Deputy Minister Hwang analyzed, "China, which has attracted massive capital and a powerful patient pool, pursues a 'fast-in-class' strategy for common targets, while Korea is nimbly targeting less competitive niches and first-in-class assets."
Lee Sang-hoon, ABL Bio CEO, also added, "Chinese corporations place extreme importance on retaining commercialization rights at home, but Korea's domestic market accounts for only about 1% of the global market, so being ready to transfer 100% of rights to global big pharma and collaborate is also a strength."
◇ Uniform IPO preference and rigid structures hold back growth
There were also calls to improve the rigid capital structure and uniform exit strategies for Korea's biotech ecosystem to take another step forward. Observers noted that today's environment, which is tilted toward initial public offerings (IPOs), can undermine the industry's dynamism.
Guk 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 Guk said, "Korean biotech corporations generally tend to want higher valuations," explaining, "This is intertwined with a market environment in which most investors prefer exits via initial public offerings (IPOs) rather than mergers and acquisitions (M&A)." This structure leads founders and management to cling to equity, which in turn creates a mismatch with global capital.
Lee Jae-joon, Ildong Pharmaceutical CEO, offered more direct criticism of the domestic investment industry's uniform preference for IPOs.
Lee said, "The cold reality is that 99% of domestic venture capital (VC) wants only the IPO process," adding, "Even when there is a very clean biotech with no post-merger integration (PMI) burden and first-in-class assets at the preclinical stage, investors publicly declare they will do only IPOs no matter what, and flexible M&A or partnership deals are falling apart."
On current policies, Lee added, "The government's support tends to remain on peripheral issues such as shortening U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review times," and "Beyond declarative Government speech, there is an urgent need for a macro, practical roadmap that encompasses investors, pharmaceutical companies, and biotechs."
◇ "Urgent to improve the ecosystem's fundamentals… must be 'flexible' and 'agile'"
In a constrained capital environment, domestic corporations are seeking various strategic alternatives to strengthen competitiveness.
ABL Bio CEO Lee Sang-hoon assessed, "Korean biotechs have innovative early-stage technologies, but compared with competitors like China, the financial limits are clear in terms of the capital and development speed needed to push into clinical trials." To overcome this, ABL Bio has established a subsidiary in California and is pursuing a global localization strategy, including directly conducting phase 1 trials by recruiting local experts.
Ildong Pharmaceutical is also expanding strategic flexibility to bolster its pipeline, moving beyond traditional approaches to in-license phase 2 assets from Chinese corporations.
Lee said, "In the past, it is true we were somewhat passive about collaborating 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 cooperate one step more closely to survive on the global stage."
On the day, experts agreed that for Korea's biotech industry to firmly establish itself as Asia's true innovation hub, the ecosystem's overall fundamentals must be improved. The advice was that corporations, investors, and the government all need to be Flexible and Agile so that pipeline optimization under market logic and active M&A centered on quality companies can gain traction.
The session wrapped up by looking ahead to the future of Korea's biotech five years from now. Joshua Berlin, head of corporate alliances and business development at BioCentury and the session chair, said, "We had an unvarnished discussion today about the light and shade of Korea's biotech," adding, "Let's meet here again on Jun. 2031 and see how much of today's outlook has become reality."