Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies said they would promote their latest pipelines and health technologies in Bio-Europe 2021, the largest biotech and healthcare event in Europe, from Oct. 25-28.

As many countries, including Korea, have begun easing virus restrictions gradually, industry watchers are paying attention to whether Korean companies will sign partnership deals with multinational drugmakers at the event to prepare for the post-Covid-19 era.

The four-day conference will be held virtually due to the pandemic.

Over 2,600 officials from 1,500 companies in the pharmaceutical and biotech sector and institutional investors from 50 countries are expected to participate in Bio-Europe 2021.

Korean companies heading to the event include Medytox, AptaBio Therapeutics, Helixmith, Aptamer Sciences, Genome & Company, SK Bioscience, Alteogen, TiumBio, Eutilex, Crystal Genomics, and Cellivery Therapeutics.

Medytox, a botulinum toxin maker, plans to unveil new pipelines. The company said it would introduce MT921, a new synthetic drug for injection lipolysis, and hold meetings for technology transfer of treatments for ophthalmic diseases and immune checkpoint inhibitor antibodies. Medytox obtained the regulatory nod for a phase 3 trial of MT921 in June.

“Medytox is continuously enhancing R&D capabilities to secure new growth engines. The company will seek various cooperation efforts with multinational companies at Bio-Europe 2021,” a Medytox official said.

AptaBio Therapeutics will disclose the clinical progress of candidate substances discovered through its two platform technologies, “NOX inhibitor discovery platform” and “Apta-DC (aptamer-drug conjugate) platform.”

Also, the company will focus on promoting Isuzinaxib (APX-115), a treatment for diabetic nephropathy, as it expects to derive results from a phase 2 study in Europe in November.

AptaBio is developing APX-115 as a Covid-19 treatment as well. The company will share details of a phase 2 U.S. trial of APX-115 for Covid-19 treatment at the upcoming event. AptaBio began administrating the drug to trial participants on Thursday.

“We will discuss licensing deals through meetings with about 20 companies, including global pharmaceutical firms,” an official at AptaBio said.

Aptamer Sciences, which owns another aptamer platform technology, will hold meetings with over 10 multinational drugmakers to explain their major pipelines at Bio-Europe 2021.

Genome & Company plans to introduce the development status of a new targeted immunotherapy candidate GENA-104 and brain disease microbiome treatment SB-121 and search for possibilities for licensing-out deals.

The company expects GENA-104 to be the first antibody treatment that will be licensed out. So, the company will concentrate on finding the optimal partner and conditions for a deal.

TiumBio said it would introduce three new drug candidates who have entered a global trial or are about to enter an international study.

The FDA cleared its investigational immunotherapy TU2218 for a phase 1/2 trial in August.

To develop TU2670, an endometriosis therapy, the company recruits patients for phase 2 multi-country trials in five European countries, including Ukraine, Russia, Italy, Poland, and the Czech Republic.

Also, TiumBio is soon to apply for a global phase 1 study of TU7710, a bypass-factor hemophilia treatment.

“We nearly completed production of samples for clinical use of TU7710 and plan to enter the global phase 1 trial within this year or early next year,” an official at TiumBio said.

Helixmith will share the latest clinical progress of its major pipeline gene therapy Engensis (VM202) and development strategies.

“Nature Biotechnology picked the outcome of the DPN (diabetic peripheral neuropathy) 3-1 trial of Engensis as ‘notable clinical results’ in the first quarter of 2021,” said Yu Seung-shin, CEO of Helixmith.

Domestic and U.S. phase 2a trials for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and local phase 1/2a trials for Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease (CMT) treatment are all progressing smoothly, he added.

“We expect to build partnerships at the event where various global biotech companies will participate,” he said.

Although it is tough to do a global business amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the company will take the digital conference as an opportunity to learn global trends and communicate with other companies, Yu added.