From Europe to the US... Pharmaceutical Industry Strengthens 'Open Innovation'

Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Association Delegation Visits US from 14th to 18th
Visits Major Bio Clusters Boston and Washington
Engages with Local Universities, Companies, and Organizations Including MIT
Following Last Month's Visit to Basel, Switzerland, Hub of European Big Pharma
Expands Global Market Entry with "Comprehensive Support"

On the 14th, a delegation including Won Hee-mok, Chairman of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association (8th from the left), and Yoon Sung-tae, Chairman of Huons Global (9th from the left), visited MIT in Boston, USA, and took a commemorative photo with John Roberts, Executive Director of MIT Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation (7th from the left).
[Photo by Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Following Europe, the domestic pharmaceutical industry has expanded its reach to the United States, strengthening local networking and 'open innovation' strategies. Attention is focused on whether these efforts to simultaneously achieve new drug development and global expansion will translate into tangible results.

According to the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association on the 22nd, the association's delegation visited Boston and Washington DC, key hubs of the U.S. bio-industry, consecutively from the 14th to the 18th (local time). The delegation included Won Hee-mok, chairman of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association, Yoon Sung-tae, director, and representatives from mid-sized domestic pharmaceutical companies such as Samjin Pharmaceutical, Yuhan Corporation, Ildong Pharmaceutical, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, and Huons.

On the 14th, the delegation first visited the Boston cluster, recognized as one of the world's top global hubs. They expanded participation of domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Industry Liaison Program (ILP) and engaged in various networking activities with local companies and institutions. Notably, they took part in a special 'Executive Briefing (EB)' organized by MIT, discussing research technologies directly with MIT faculty in the fields of new drug development and oncology, and met with MIT spin-off startups in these areas. They then visited Ginkgo Bioworks, a world-renowned biofoundry company spun off from MIT in 2008, which provides a proprietary cell programming platform, to discuss potential collaboration.

On the 15th, the delegation met with Van Bradford, Vice President of MassBio, a nonprofit organization representing the Massachusetts life sciences cluster with over 1,600 members and various open innovation programs. The meeting yielded concrete outcomes, including discussions on jointly hosting next year's 'K-Pharm Networking Event (tentatively named 2023 Korea Pharma Day)'. They also spent time exchanging with the Korean American Bio Association (KABA), Korean American Society of Pharmaceutical Professionals (KASBP), and New England Bioscience Association (NEBS).

At the annual symposium of the Korean American Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Association (KAPAL) held in Washington, USA on the 17th, Won Hee-mok, President of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association (right), and Lee Byung-ha, President of KAPAL, signed a business agreement and posed for a commemorative photo.
[Photo by Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association]

On the 17th, the delegation visited the U.S. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) in Washington DC to discuss ways to enhance cooperation through sharing new drug development policies and expanding information exchange. PhRMA is an organization composed of 34 innovative bio companies in the U.S. with an average annual R&D expenditure exceeding 250 billion KRW. Additionally, they attended the annual symposium of the Korean American Pharmaceutical Association of Life Sciences (KAPAL) and signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in information and human resource exchanges. On the 18th, they met with Perry El Fray, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA), and other executives to discuss strategies for domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies to enter the U.S. pharmaceutical distribution market. The delegation agreed to support local market entry through participation in future HDA annual events and networking with U.S. distributors.

This U.S. visit by the association came less than a month after their visit to Basel, Switzerland, the largest bio cluster in Europe, at the end of last month. The delegation attending the special showcase organized by the Basel Investment Agency engaged with local research institutions, universities, and companies. Notably, Hanmi Pharmaceutical established an open innovation center at Basel Innovation Park. This broad global initiative by the association aims to expand open innovation to secure future capabilities and global market entry for domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies. This is also the background for hosting the '2022 KPBMA Open Innovation Plaza,' an open innovation platform event open to all pharmaceutical and bio companies, on the 5th of next month at the Chosun Hotel in Seoul. It is reported that 30 companies have already applied for partnering as of now.

Chairman Won said, “For our pharmaceutical and bio industry to succeed beyond the domestic market and in the global market, we must actively engage and collaborate with local experts, fostering growth and development through mutual cooperation. We will comprehensively support domestic companies’ market entry by strengthening overseas local networks and infrastructure.”