ZURICH, November 09 (AJP) - South Korean biotech firms opened talks with global drugmakers on Monday at BIO-Europe in Cologne, Germany, as the industry’s biggest dealmaking event in Europe got underway.
No deals had been announced by Monday afternoon. Several Korean companies said their drug candidates had drawn strong interest, however, including from large global pharmaceutical firms.
More than 3,200 companies from over 60 countries are taking part in this year’s event, which runs until Wednesday, according to Korean newspaper E-Today. Organizers expect more than 5,800 attendees. The organizer, Informa Connect, said this year’s event is growing from a dealmaking meeting into a wider forum where industry leaders discuss strategy.
Hair loss drug draws attention
Bioneer, a Korean biotech firm, said its experimental hair loss treatments drew interest even before the event opened. The company said it had received requests for meetings from global drugmakers about its SAMiRNA technology, which uses tiny strands of genetic material to switch off genes linked to disease.
The treatment is applied to the scalp and reaches hair roots without needing a separate delivery system, the company said. Bioneer is also promoting a drug candidate for fibrosis, a condition in which organs such as the lungs and kidneys become scarred and stop working properly.
The fibrosis drug, called SRN001, is in an early-stage clinical trial. It has shown results in animal studies of lung and kidney disease, and Bioneer expects licensing talks to move forward as more trial data become available.
“Interest in our SAMiRNA-based hair loss pipeline is high,” a Bioneer official said.
A growing Korean presence
The Korean delegation is larger than the eight firms announced before the event. Besides those eight, including ABL Bio and D&D Pharmatech, at least five more Korean companies are holding meetings in Cologne.
Among the earlier group, D&D Pharmatech is continuing talks on DD01, a weekly injection for a serious form of fatty liver disease. In a US mid-stage trial, the disease cleared up in 62.5 percent of patients who received the drug, compared with 5.3 percent of those given a placebo.
Jeil Pharmaceutical is looking for overseas partners to expand its business abroad. Pharos iBio is pitching two cancer drug candidates, while KoBioLabs is promoting a drug delivery technology based on microbes. Nibec is seeking partners for drugs to treat obesity and heart and kidney disease.
About 240 Korean companies attended BIO-Europe in Vienna last year, according to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. They formed the fourth-largest national group at the event, after the United States, Britain and Germany. The institute helped run a Korea pavilion and supported 26 of those companies.
Why deals take time
Licensing deals rarely close on the spot. Most begin with first meetings at events like BIO-Europe and can take months of testing and negotiation before a contract is signed.
For Korean firms, the stakes are high. In recent years, licensing deals with global drugmakers have become one of the main ways Korean biotech companies earn money and grow. ABL Bio, for example, signed such deals with Britain’s GSK and US drugmaker Eli Lilly in 2025.
AJP Takeaways
- South Korean biotech firms began partnering talks with global drugmakers at BIO-Europe in Cologne on November 9, though no deals had been announced by Monday afternoon.
-mSouth Korean biotech firm Bioneer said its SAMiRNA-based hair loss treatments drew interest from global drugmakers at BIO-Europe 2026.
- More than 3,200 companies from over 60 countries are attending BIO-Europe 2026, which runs until November 11, according to E-Today.
- Tags: BIO-Europe, South Korea, biotech, Bioneer, SAMiRNA, SRN001, Jeil Pharmaceutical, Pharos iBio, KoBioLabs, Nibec, ABL Bio, D&D Pharmatech, Informa Connect, Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Cologne, licensing
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