'Global Bio Innovation at a Glance' Bio Korea 2024 Concludes

Bio Korea 2024, themed "The Future of Bio-Innovative Technology and Global Cooperation," concluded on the 10th.

Attendees are cutting the ribbon at the opening ceremony of Bio Korea 2024.
[Photo by Korea Health Industry Development Institute]

Co-hosted by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute and Chungcheongbuk-do, Bio Korea 2024 marked its 19th edition and was held over three days from the 8th to the 10th at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The event shared trends and prospects of innovative technologies gaining attention in the biohealth industry and provided business collaboration opportunities with global companies, institutions, researchers, and investors necessary for development. It attracted participants from 55 countries, 707 companies, and over 30,000 attendees.

Minister Cho Kyu-hong of the Ministry of Health and Welfare said in his opening remarks, "To leap forward as a global hub for biohealth, we will steadily promote expanded support for research and development (R&D), the establishment of mega funds, export support, professional workforce training, and regulatory improvements. We expect Bio Korea to become a catalyst for open innovation cooperation that enables our companies to advance globally."

The event featured programs such as business partnering, invest fairs, exhibitions, and conferences. In business partnering, over 1,800 meetings were held over three days to explore various business opportunities including discovering new partners, discussing technology cooperation and joint research, technology transfer, and investment. Notably, the number of overseas participants seeking excellent domestic technologies increased by about 25% compared to last year, and the number of meetings rose by approximately 36%.

At the invest fair, presentations and discussions on 10 topics were held, including global biohealth investment trends and prospects, and Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) JLABS Korea investment hub strategy to revitalize investment in the Korean biohealth industry. Additionally, 14 domestic biohealth innovative companies introduced the excellence of their technologies, management strategies, and visions.

In the exhibition, 333 companies from 23 countries including J&J, Wuxi AppTec, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Yuhan Corporation, ST Pharm, and GC Cell operated promotional booths. The exhibition halls were divided by themes such as ▲Biotech ▲Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Digital Health Zone ▲Advanced Regenerative Medicine Hall, along with national pavilions from Australia, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Germany, and others. The number of overseas exhibiting companies increased by 37% compared to last year, and 81 companies from 10 countries participated in the national pavilions, actively exchanging and discussing business opportunities with domestic companies.

The conference featured 11 sessions introducing and sharing the latest issues and technological trends in the biohealth industry, including next-generation drug development platforms, diabetes and obesity treatments, microbiomes, and global open innovation. Particularly, the special sessions on next-generation drug development platforms, diabetes and obesity treatments, and AI drug development attracted high interest from attendees.

Cha Soon-do, President of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, said, "Thanks to the great interest and active participation of domestic and international companies, institutions, and stakeholders, we were able to successfully conclude Bio Korea 2024. We hope that Bio Korea will continue to be the largest domestic platform for technology and business exchange, expanding global partnerships for our companies and creating new business opportunities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.