Korean CDMOs gain traction at international convention

[Courtesy of Samsung Biologics Co.]

South Korean biopharmaceutical companies, and domestic contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) in particular, are attracting significant attention at the BIO International Convention, which kicked off on Monday in San Diego.

With WuXi Biologics, a leading Chinese CDMO, not attending the event in protests against the proposed U.S. BIOSECURE Act, Korean CDMOs appear to be seizing the opportunity to make their mark. With more than 1,400 participating bio companies and an expected 20,000 attendees, Korea has a notable presence at BIO International with 47 companies and approximately 1,000 attendees, second only to the United States, which was the host country.

Samsung Biologics Co. set up a 139-square-meter booth in the center of the exhibition hall. Operating a company-exclusive booth at the event for a twelth consecutive year, the company highlighted its leading biopharmaceutical production capacity of 784,000 liters, including a fifth facility to be completed in 2025. Half of the front of the booth was dedicated to its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) portfolio, the company‘s recent investment focus im a bid to attract new customers.

Lotte Biologics Co. provided a glimpse of its Incheon Songdo BioCampus and the ADC facility under construction at the Syracuse BioCampus in the United States. “Starting with this exhibition, we will present concrete business strategies and actively build partnerships,” a company representative said.

[Courtesy of Celltrion Inc.]

The event attracted significant interest from Korean CDMO companies. Celltrion Inc. attracted more than 500 industry insiders to its booth on the first day, more than double the number of visitors on the first day in the 2023 edition. “We are actively discussing various areas with potential partners, including our follow-on biosimilar pipeline and open innovation projects,” a Celltrion official said.

For the first time, SK’s bio subsidiaries set up booths with the aim of establishing global partnerships. SK pharmteco Co. had a seperate booth, while SK bioscience Co. and SK biopharmaceuticals Co. shared a booth.

The Korean Pavilion, jointly organized by the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), featured a record 26 companies. “One global company mentioned that 90 percent of the dozens of meetings they had scheduled in advance for this event were with Korean companies,” according to Park Sung-ho, who heads KOTRA‘s North American office.