Despite the prolonging Covid-19 pandemic, about 20 local biopharmaceutical companies will participate in the 2021 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, the largest healthcare industrial event globally.
The JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, which celebrates its 39th conference, will hold its program online this year from next Monday to Thursday due to the Covid-19 outbreak. More than 500 pharmaceutical companies worldwide will take part in the annual meeting, sharing new R&D achievements and discussing the biopharmaceutical industry's future direction.
The conference provides Korean pharmaceutical firms with opportunities to conclude licensing-out or partnership agreements with global giants.
Among Korean participants, Samsung Biologics will likely draw the most attention, as it is the only local company that will make a presentation in the event's "Main Track" session scheduled for next Wednesday. CEO John Lim will explain Samsung Biologics' current and future business strategies.
Samsung Biologics will attract more interest this year, as other Korean regulars, including Celltrion and Yuhan Corp, announced that they would not attend this year in the conference's main track session.
Companies presenting at the auxiliary "Emerging Market" sessions include Hugel, Genexine, LG Chem, HK inno.N, Hanmi Pharmaceutical.
Hugel will present its achievements and visions, encouraged by its recent success in winning sales approval for Letybo, its botulinum toxin (BTX) product, in the Chinese market. The company will also hold one-on-one meetings with foreign institutional investors.
Genexine plans to introduce its business strategy for GX-I7, a candidate substance for immunotherapy and COVID-19 treatment.
LG Chem will also disclose its business strategy for the new drug pipeline, including treatments for gout, autoimmune diseases, rare obesity, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
HK inno.N plans to present K-CAB, its gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) treatment, and its autoimmune diseases and NASH treatment.
Hanmi has kept the contents of its presentation a secret, but many speculate that the company will focus on its innovative new drugs currently under development.
Syntekabio will present its new drug pipeline, proprietary AI drug development platform technology, and genome precision medical services.
Many other Korean biopharmaceutical firms will also attend the conference, although they have no plans to make any presentations. Among such participants are JW Pharmaceutical, Medpacto, Apta Bio, Genome & Company, Genuv, and Pharmabcine.
Medpacto is looking to sign a strategic partnership or license-out agreement for Vactosertib, an immunotherapy agent, through online meetings with multinational pharmaceutical companies.
Pharmabcine plans to present its core technologies and pipelines, such as Olinvacimab, PMC-403, PMC-402, and PMC-309, to multinational pharmaceutical companies.