K-Bio Stands Tall in Pharmaceutical Powerhouse Switzerland... Accelerates Push in No. 2 Export Market

"Korea-Switzerland Biohealth Partnership" Held in Basel

As Korea’s annual pharmaceutical exports have reached the 10 billion dollar mark, a large-scale event was held in Switzerland—a global pharmaceutical powerhouse—to spotlight the status of Korean bio companies, drawing significant attention from local firms.

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) announced on the 6th that it co-hosted the "Korea-Switzerland Biohealth Partnership" in Basel, Switzerland on May 4-5 (local time), in collaboration with Pohang City, Switzerland Global Enterprise, and the Korea Institute for the Advancement of Technology (KIAT). Switzerland is Korea’s second-largest export market for pharmaceuticals after the United States, with exports surging more than tenfold from 120 million dollars in 2019 to a projected 1.28 billion dollars in 2025, establishing itself as a key strategic hub.

Held in Basel, Europe’s representative bio hub where over 700 bio companies such as Novartis and Roche are concentrated, the event attracted more than 3,000 participants from 49 countries. Korea operated a national pavilion at "Swiss Biotech Day (SBD) 2026," a flagship European exhibition and conference in the biohealth field, with 14 participating companies. Activities included an exhibition marketing collaboration forum, a business-to-business (B2B) partnering meeting, and on-site visits and discussions with local institutions (universities, hospitals, and research centers).

Through this initiative, KOTRA supported the export marketing of the 14 companies in the Korean pavilion, facilitating more than 120 partnership, technology cooperation, and investment consultations with European companies. Notably, among the participating companies, "Selecxin," which is developing a clinical phase 2 IL-2-based immuno-oncology drug that induces antigen-specific CD8 T cell proliferation, was selected as a promising startup at SBD 2026 and garnered attention from European businesses and investors through an official session presentation.

In addition, at the "Korea-Switzerland Biohealth Partnership Forum," seven Korean companies attracted interest from European bio firms and investment institutions through pitching sessions. At the forum, Lonza, the world’s leading CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organization), and Swiss global pharmaceutical company Debiopharm shared their collaboration needs for open innovation, while Noul, a Korean AI diagnostic solution company that has entered the Swiss market, presented a successful case of bilateral cooperation.

KOTRA and Pohang City each introduced Korea’s bio ecosystem and regional clusters to attract investment. The KIAT Brussels office operated a consulting booth for the K-TAG (Korea Technology Advisory Group), a technical advisory service that supports global R&D planning, resolves technical challenges, and facilitates overseas market entry for domestic companies by leveraging a network of overseas Korean scientific and technical experts. The booth conducted more than 20 consultations to support joint research and development (R&D) between Korean and European companies.

Additionally, prior to the event, KOTRA published the "Swiss Biohealth Market Entry Guide A-Z at a Glance." This guide, based on more than 600 inquiries handled by the Zurich Trade Office over the past five years, provides detailed information on biohealth distribution structures, certifications, and regulatory environments, helping companies develop practical export strategies.

Kang Kyungsung, President of KOTRA, stated, "Following last October’s CPHI, the world’s largest pharmaceutical exhibition in Germany, European companies once again showed great interest in collaborating with K-bio firms at this Swiss exhibition. We will systematically support the globalization of K-biohealth companies by identifying local demand and collaborating with specialized institutions."

KOTRA headquarters exterior view. KOTRA

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