Korean pharma shines at global health care conference

Korean biopharma shines at J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference amid global industry optimism.

The Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, California, where the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is held, on Monday [JOINT PRESS CORP]

SAN FRANCISCO — Cautious optimism for a biotech upswing was palpable on the opening day of this year’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, one of the largest annual get-togethers in life science, even as ongoing market uncertainties lingered in the winter air.

Korean biopharmaceuticals, meanwhile, witnessed a growing presence on the global stage, with Samsung Biologics and Celltrion taking center stage and the latest landmark licensing deals with local companies discussed during the multinational pharma giants' presentations this year.

As dawn approached on Monday, the Westin St. Francis Hotel in downtown San Francisco, California, was packed with representatives from drugmakers, biotech investors and industry stakeholders attending the 42nd J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

The 2024 edition of the investment symposium is expected by its organizers to attract some 8,000 attendees, with a record 614 companies set to deliver presentations through Thursday.

“As everybody knows, it’s nice to turn the page. 2023 was a challenging year in terms of health care performance,” said Mike Gaito, the global head of Healthcare Investment Banking at J.P. Morgan in his opening remarks at the Westin St. Francis Hotel.

“We did have a good bounce-back year in terms of financing and M&A (mergers and acquisitions), which was nice although it came off depressed levels — so we are steadily marching back toward pre-Covid normalized levels,” said Gaito.

A series of major M&A deals were signed in the run-up to the conference, including Johnson & Johnson (J&J)’s $2 billion acquisition of Ambrx Biopharma, which was announced on Monday, and AbbVie’s $10 billion acquisition of ImmunoGen, further fueling anticipations for an uptick in the New Year.

After the long biotech winter, the industry is expecting the rebound to continue into 2024, said Gaito, with emerging technologies driving innovation and the market stabilizing.

However, the macro uncertainties still loom large, especially with the U.S. election on the horizon.

“We think about capital allocation and risk management remaining important themes again in 2024 as we continue to navigate the economic and geopolitical headwinds, […] as well as this historic global election cycle,” Gaito said, adding that “in terms of the U.S. presidential election, we expect to see health care to be front and center for both parties, which unfortunately for all of us could create some volatility as we go through the year.”

The conference’s earliest time slots in the main Grand Ballroom on Monday morning were, as usual, dedicated to pharma giants such as Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), Novartis, Amgen and J&J.

What stood out, though, was the unusually diverse and frequent presence of Korean names during the multinational big pharma’s presentations on their plans for modality expansions and fresh pipelines.

J&J CEO Joaquin Duato mentioned the company’s subsidiary, Janssen, and its recent antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) licensing deal with LegoChem, which is potentially worth up to $1.7 billion with an upfront payment of $100 million. The deal, announced in December, is the biggest ever of its kind in Korea.

Novartis CEO Vasant Narasimhan speaks during the 42nd J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference which started on Monday at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, California [NOVARTIS KOREA]

Novartis CEO Vasant Narasimhan briefly discussed Chong Kun Dang’s CKD-510, a drug candidate licensed out to the Swiss pharmaceutical company with an upfront payment of $80 million, and BMS head Christopher Boerner mentioned Korea’s Orum Therapeutics.

Meanwhile, Korea’s largest biopharmaceutical players, Samsung Biologics and Celltrion, will take to stage by themselves in the main Grand Ballroom at the Westin St. Francis Hotel as well.

Whereas this will be Samsung’s eighth consecutive year attending the annual conference, Celltrion is making a comeback after a four-year hiatus, with its merger with Celltrion Healthcare freshly wrapped up.

Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim will take center stage on Tuesday, Jan. 9 to discuss the company’s highlights of 2023 and its mid-to-long-term plans under the theme of “Leap Forward, Beyond the Reach of the Past.”

Samsung Biologics’ allotted slot for presentation, which used to be mostly on the third day of the conference before, has been set a day earlier than usual, possibly in reflection of the company’s growing international presence in the market.

Celltrion’s founder and chairman Seo Jung-jin, who returned to the top post early last year two years after his resignation, is set to deliver a presentation about the company’s business plan for the upcoming year on Wednesday.

Yuhan Corporation, SK Biopharmaceuticals, Lotte Biologics and Kakao Healthcare will join the smaller presentation sessions dedicated to companies in the Asia-Pacific region. Other companies such as SK Bioscience, Hanmi Pharmaceuticals, GI Innovation, GC Cell, CHA Biotech, Dong-A ST and ABL Bio will also be attending the conference for partnership meetings.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]