[BioUSA] Global Bio Gathering... 'K-Bio' Standing Out

85 Countries, 9,143 Companies Participate... World's Largest Event
510 Domestic Companies Participate... Double Compared to Last Year

'11 Consecutive Years Participation' Samsung Biologics
Lotba, ST Pharm and Other CDMOs Engage in Fierce Promotion Battle

More than 500 domestic bio, pharmaceutical, and healthcare companies will gather in one place. Surprisingly, the location is not in Korea but in the United States. From June 5 to 8 (local time), the world's largest bio event, the '2023 BIO International Convention (BIO USA),' will be held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in Massachusetts, USA.

A view of the Samsung Biologics promotional booth set up at the San Diego Convention Center in California, USA, where the Bio International Convention 2022 (BioUSA) was held last year.
[Photo by Lee Chunhee]

BIO USA is a large-scale global bio event organized by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) in the U.S., bringing together 9,143 companies from 85 countries worldwide. This year, it will be held over four days in Boston under the theme "Stand up for Science." From Korea, 510 companies are expected to fiercely compete in various forms such as exhibition booths and partnering sessions. This is double the number of participating companies compared to about 250 last year.

In particular, Boston has gained even more attention as a global bio-cluster region, with 'Kendall Square' in the area being highlighted as a target in the government's 'Advanced Industry Global Cluster Development Plan' announced on June 1. Kendall Square is known as the "most innovative 1 square mile (2.9 km²) on Earth," and within this space are over 1,000 bio companies including Moderna and Pfizer, venture capital firms, universities, hospitals, startup spaces, coffee shops, restaurants, and parks, making it the core area of the Boston bio cluster.

The Main Stage is 'CDMO'... Samsung Biologics, Lotte Biologics, and Others Participate

The most active participants at this year's BIO USA are from the Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) industry. The exhibition hall layout places the 'Bio Process Zone,' the stage for global CDMO companies, right next to the main entrance, making it the most competitive market at this year's expo. Leading Korean companies such as Samsung Biologics, Lotte Biologics, Matica Bio, ST Pharm, and Vinex will set up individual booths and engage in active business promotion.

Especially, Samsung Biologics, which has participated with a solo booth for 11 consecutive years since its founding in 2011 (excluding the online event during the COVID-19 pandemic), plans to actively showcase its enhanced CDMO capabilities. It has prepared a large-scale booth of 167㎡ near the main entrance on the central street, matching the world's largest CDMO production capacity of 604,000 liters. This is the second-largest booth among participating companies at this BIO USA.

This year, in addition, the booth theme "Your Sustainable Partner" is reflected by using eco-friendly materials such as wood, stone, and recycled products for all booth materials. Brochures, previously provided as printed paper, are now offered digitally via QR codes, and souvenirs are eco-friendly jute bags made from hemp, demonstrating the company's commitment to becoming a sustainable CDMO.

Virtual image of Samsung Biologics' booth at BioUSA 2023 [Photo by Samsung Biologics]

Lotte Biologics, which made its international debut at BIO USA shortly after its founding last year, is participating for the second time this year. Unlike last year, when the acquisition of the New York Syracuse plant was not yet completed, this year the acquisition has been finalized and the plant is operating normally. Lotte Biologics plans to actively attract customers by promoting the manufacturing technology, process development services, quality systems of the Syracuse plant, as well as plans for establishing a domestic mega plant.

Although not a domestic company, Matica Bio, the U.S. subsidiary of CHA Biotech, will also set up a booth to promote its cell and gene therapy (CGT) CDMO facility established last year in Texas. A 3D virtual tour will be prepared so that customers can explore the Texas facility and processes.

510 Companies Participating... Rapid Increase in Booth Participants

Celltrion will also participate with a large-scale booth. Celltrion is advancing beyond biosimilars (biopharmaceutical generics) to become a new drug development company, securing various platforms such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), bispecific antibodies, and microbiomes. At this BIO USA, it is expected to actively seek partners to continue these efforts.

The Korea Bio Association will organize a 'Korea Pavilion' again this year. Together with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), it participates annually in BIO USA as part of its overseas exhibition support project for the domestic bio industry. This year, 15 companies have been selected to participate in the Korea Pavilion, including Gangstem Biotech, NetTarget, Medica Korea, Medipick, Mepgen, Vinex, Biotoxtech, iGene, SN Bioscience, ST One, Woojung Bio, Ubiologics, Intron Biotechnology, Genuintech, and Protina. Each company will exhibit and introduce their bio technologies and products. The Chuncheon Bio Industry Promotion Agency will also participate alongside to support the promotion of companies based in Chuncheon.

Additionally, the Bio Association plans various side events, including a dialogue titled "Strengths and Potential of K-Biotech" featuring Robert Langer, co-founder of Moderna and Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Kim Yong-tae, CEO of Mepgen.

The Korean Pavilion set up inside the BioUSA event held in San Diego, USA, last June [Photo by Standaim]

Until last year, it was difficult to find domestic booths other than major CDMO companies and the Korea Pavilion, but this year, various other domestic companies have set up booths. Companies such as Huons Global, Inventi Labs, Woojung Bio, DT&C Bio Group, Caregen, Sunbio, Cellion Biomed, Gradient Bioconvergence, iCrozin, iBeam Technology, Nextcure, Newein, Radahaim, and Umtl will have individual booths.

Company Introductions and Partnering Also Conducted... Welt Becomes First Korean Digital Healthcare Company to Participate in a Session

In addition to booths, many companies are participating for presentations, discussions, and partnering. Kim Ju-young, head of the U.S. branch of digital therapeutics (DTx) company Welt, will participate as a panelist in the session "DTx 2.0: The Promise of Digital Therapeutics" on the afternoon of June 5 to discuss the development potential of DTx. Kim graduated from Northeastern University in the U.S. and also serves on the board of the Global DTx Association. This is reportedly the first time a Korean digital healthcare company has participated as a panelist in an official BIO USA program session.

In the company presentation sessions designed to introduce companies, domestic biotech firms such as Cha Vaccine Institute, Bridge Biotherapeutics, Pharos iBio, HAII, NeuroBiogen, Mepgen, NeoImmuneTech, Fraser Therapeutics, and Vasgen Bio will actively participate. Cha Vaccine Institute CEO Yeom Jung-sun will personally introduce their independently developed immune adjuvant platform and clinical pipeline. Bridge Biotherapeutics' Pavel Prinsev, Director of Business Development, will reveal the latest R&D status and prospects in their main areas of lung cancer and pulmonary fibrosis. Aveo, a Boston-based oncology biotech recently acquired by LG Chem, will also present, with COO Jeb Ledell delivering the presentation.

Additionally, ABL Bio, Onconic Therapeutics, Genome & Company, Kainosmed, Abion, MedPacto, Syntekabio, Y-Biologics, and others will visit Boston to conduct partnering and introduce their core technologies and pipelines.