KoreaBIO to run largest Korean pavilion ever at BIO USA 2024

KoreaBIO said Thursday that it will operate the largest Korean Pavilion ever, jointly with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), at BIO International Convention 2024 (BIO USA 2024), which will be held from June 3-6 in San Diego, Calif.

BIO USA is the world's largest comprehensive bio convention, attracting 88 countries, over 9,000 companies, and 20,000 visitors worldwide. It offers exhibitions, conferences, partnerships, and other events. Korea sent the largest number of participants among foreign countries in 2022 and 2023.

KoreaBIO and KOTRA have run the Korean Pavilion every year since the early 2000s as part of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's state-funded overseas exhibition program, and this year marks their 21st event.

This year, the pavilion will be more than twice as large as in previous years, supporting 28 companies and institutions engaged in various fields of the bio industry, including platform technology, outsourcing services, medical devices, new drug development, and small- and medium-sized enterprises supplying materials, components, and equipment.

In addition to supporting exhibition promotion, the two operating agencies will run a comprehensive corporate support program for the first time this year, assisting in partnering meetings, overseas networking, and arranging meetings with overseas investors by, for instance, setting up a stage for companies in the Korean Pavilion to make presentations.

KoreaBIO will also participate in various events. During the convention, bio-association officials from 32 countries worldwide will attend the International Council of Biotechnology Associations (ICBA) General Assembly, where they will share the status of their bio-industry and discuss ways to cooperate.

The organizers will share the current status of the biosecurity legislation following the recent U.S. Biosecurity Act. KoreaBIO will share the current status of the Korean industry amid a prolonged downturn in investment sentiment in Korea and emphasize the importance of policy partnerships with various countries.

In conjunction with the memorandum of understanding signed by KoreaBIO and its U.S. counterpart, the Biotechnology Innovative Organization (BIO), during President Yoon Suk Yeol’s visit to the U.S. last year, KoreaBIO will also host the Korea-U.S. Bio-Industry Cooperation Roundtable following last year, which will bring together bio companies from the two countries to promote their cooperation.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will also join the companies, focusing on cooperation between the two allies in the wake of the U.S. Biosecurity Act. The roundtable will focus on bilateral cooperation to stabilize the pharmaceutical supply chain. It will include more practical discussions between companies in raw materials, drug manufacturing, and small-scale cooperation.

On June 5, the final night of the event, KoreaBIO, KOTRA, Korea Planning and Evaluation of Industrial Technology (KEIT)), the Korea Exchange, and Invest Seoul will jointly organize the Korea Biotech Partnership (KBTP) 2024 to support K-Bio's expansion into the global market.

The event will introduce Seoul's overseas business attraction program and the Kosdaq market to foreign biotech companies to promote the attractiveness of the Korean bio industry. Speakers from Invest Seoul, the Korea Exchange, Korea Investment Partners, Samsung Investment and Securities, the law firm Yoon & Yang, and the accounting firm Samil PwC will present how to attract overseas biotechs to Korea.

At the subsequent networking event, Samsung Biologics, SK biopharmaceuticals, and Alteogen will share their experiences and insights on how Korean companies have gone global. MSD, a global pharma company, will also participate and share its experience on the potential and prospects of the Korean bio market. In addition to companies with outstanding technologies representing both countries, the networking event is expected to be attended by government officials and investors from Korea and the U.S.