Major multinational pharmaceutical companies are expected to attend the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, CA., in the U.S. in January, drawing attention to whether Korean biotech companies will join the event.
As the upcoming conference will be held face to face, Korean companies hope to clinch partnerships with multinational drugmakers at the event.
The 40thh J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference will be held in San Francisco from Jan. 10-13, 2022. Unlike last year’s virtual-only event, the upcoming one will be held online and offline.
On Thursday, industry sources said that nine Korean biotech firms plan to attend the J.P. Morgan conference in 2022. They are NeoImmuneTech, GC Pharma, Olix Pharmaceuticals, Nibec, LegoChem Biosciences, SK Biopharmaceuticals, MedPacto, PharmAbcine, and ABL Bio. NeoImmuneTech, Olix, SK Biopharmaceuticals, and PharmAbcine said they would participate in the offline event.
PharmAbcine said it received an official invitation to the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.
Yoo Jin-san, CEO of PharmAbcine, will attend meetings with global investors to introduce the company’s key pipelines and platform technologies and seek strategic partnerships and licensing deals.
PharmAbcine plans to promote the efficacy of olinvacimab confirmed in combination with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in a phase 1 study and released the schedule for a phase 2 study and commercialization. In addition, the company will also promote the latest research status of human antibody library (HuPhage) technology, immunotherapy PMC-309, tumor angiogenesis inhibitor PMC-402, and eye disease treatment PMC-403.
PharmAbcine also plans to attend Biotech Showcase 2022, held from Jan. 10-19.
NeoImmuneTech is joining both J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and Biotech Showcase 2022. At the latter, it will release the study results on NT-I7, a new drug candidate.
NT-I7 induces amplification of T-cells, a type of immune cell in the body, tested in combination with Keytruda.
In Korea, Genexine, the largest shareholder of NeoImmuneTech, is conducting a trial of the substance, under the name GX-I7, to treat Covid-19.
“We will present the trial outcome at the Biotech Showcase 2022 and meet with investors in-person to discuss the direction of NT-I7 commercialization,” an official at NeoImmuneTech said.
Analysts raised expectations for Korean biotech firms’ participation in the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.
Kang Ha-na, an analyst at eBEST Investment & Securities, said in a report on Wednesday that Korean biotech companies could meet with global pharmaceutical firms in person, raising the possibility of progress in deals and additional meeting schedules.
“We should note that the in-person meetings will raise the chance of clinching deals.”