47 Korean biotech firms to participate in major U.S. industry fair

By Kim Joo-heon Posted : May 28, 2024, 14:49 Updated : May 28, 2024, 14:49
Samsung Biologics' booth at the Bio International Convention in San Diego, U.S. Courtesy of Samsung Biologics

SEOUL, May 28 (AJU PRESS) - A total of 47 Korean drug and biotechnology companies will showcase their latest technologies and products at a major industry exhibition in the United States next week.

The Bio International Convention, the world's largest biopharmaceutical exhibition, is set to kick off in San Diego on Monday for a four-day run. 

More than 1,500 global companies are expected to participate in the annual event organized by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization under the theme "Where Business and Breakthroughs Converge." Over 20,000 visitors are expected to attend.

Korean firms hope the convention will be an opportunity to expand their presence in the U.S. market. 

Samsung Biologics will participate in the fair for the 12th consecutive year. The biotech unit of Samsung Group will present its contract development services capable of creating cell lines and production processes for the mass production of antibody-drug candidate substances at the laboratory level. 

To expand its production capacity, the company aims to build its fifth plant in Songdo, southwest of Seoul, by 2032.

SK Biopharmaceuticals and SK Bioscience, two units of Korea's second-largest conglomerate SK Group, will run a joint booth. SK Biopharmaceuticals will showcase "Xcopri," an epilepsy drug currently available in the U.S., while SK Bioscience will introduce key products such as vaccines for influenza, shingles and typhoid fever.

Other Korean exhibitors include Celltrion, Lotte Biologics and CHA Biotech.

The exhibition comes as the U.S. Congress pushes for the Biosecure Act, which would prohibit U.S. agencies from working with several Chinese biotech companies, including WuXi AppTec and its sister company WuXi Biologics, and would require U.S. companies to sever ties with them in the long term. The blacklisted Chinese companies will not take part in this year's event.

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