11th Anniversary of Switzerland's Largest Bio Industry Event
Over 1,800 Participants and Investors from 44 Countries Attend
10 Korean Companies Operate National Pavilion
The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) announced on the 24th that it participated in the 'Swiss Biotech Day 2024' held in Basel, Switzerland, from the 22nd for two days, operating a Korean pavilion and conducting partnering consultations and cooperation forums in collaboration with Pohang City.
Marking its 11th anniversary this year, SBD 2024 was attended by more than 1,800 pharmaceutical, biotech industry professionals, and investors from 44 countries, including over 600 Swiss biotech companies. The event consisted of the Swiss biotech industry trend forum, various seminars, panel discussions, and pitching sessions featuring executives from major pharmaceutical companies such as Roche.
KOTRA operated a national pavilion for the first time at SBD 2024 with 10 Korean companies to support pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device businesses. A partnering consultation meeting was also held to support exports and joint R&D between the two countries, resulting in over 200 consultations. Notably, AI Cloud, a Korean company developing AI-based antibody therapeutics, was selected as a promising startup and presented in the ‘Innovation beyond Switzerland’ session, attracting attention from European companies.
KOTRA also hosted the 'Korea-Switzerland Biohealth Partnership Forum,' inviting biotech companies and related organizations to create a platform for exchange between companies from both countries. At the forum, major Korean companies showcased their innovative technologies and growth potential through pitching sessions. In particular, the CEO of Terapet SA, a spin-off from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), shared a successful partnership case with Yonsei Cancer Hospital, raising expectations for cooperation between companies from both countries.
Switzerland is a powerhouse in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, accounting for more than one-third of the country’s total export value. It is home to global top 10 pharmaceutical companies such as Roche and Novartis, as well as Lonza, the world’s largest contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). Additionally, with over 1,200 biotech and medtech companies, Switzerland is regarded as a hub for life sciences in Europe. The Basel region, in particular, with around 700 pharmaceutical and biotech companies, universities, and research institutes, has a fully established bio-ecosystem and shows great interest in cooperation with Korea, operating accelerating programs with cities like Seoul and Pohang.
Chae Kyung-ho, head of KOTRA’s Zurich Trade Center, said, "Switzerland is a bio powerhouse with excellent life science talent and many big pharma companies leading the pharmaceutical industry, and interest in cooperation with Korea has been increasing recently. We will continue to provide close support to participating companies to achieve results and do our best to help them enter the local market by discovering partners that meet their needs."
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