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Major South Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies will participate in "BIO USA 2026," the world's largest biotech industry event, to be held in San Diego later this month. Each firm plans to pursue global commercialization opportunities, including expanding contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) orders and licensing out new drug candidates.
According to the industry on the 15th, BIO USA is the world's largest pharmaceutical and biotech industry event, organized by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. Each year, pharmaceutical companies, biotechs, and investment institutions from around the world gather to discuss technology transfers, joint research, and manufacturing collaborations. This year's event will be held in San Diego from the 22nd to the 25th, with more than 20,000 industry participants from over 70 countries expected to attend.
Domestic CDMO companies will use the event to seek global business partners and collaboration opportunities. Samsung Biologics will operate its own booth for the 14th consecutive year since its founding in 2011, aiming to expand CDMO orders. This year, the company will spotlight its "CRDMO" business model encompassing contract research (CRO), contract development (CDO), and contract manufacturing (CMO). In particular, it plans to focus on securing global clients based on the U.S. Rockville manufacturing facility it acquired last year and its Incheon Songdo production base. Lotte Biologics will also unveil the production processes and key equipment of its Songdo Bio Campus Plant 1, scheduled for completion this August. The company plans to emphasize its global CDMO competitiveness based on a "dual-site" operating system connecting its Syracuse plant in the U.S. and the Songdo Bio Campus. Dong-A Socio Group will operate a joint booth with three affiliates: Dong-A ST, ST Pharm, and BTGen. Through this, it plans to seek new order opportunities for ST Pharm, which runs an RNA therapeutics CDMO business, and BTGen, an antibody and protein CDMO company.
Celltrion and SK Biopharmaceuticals will showcase their AI-based business capabilities at the event. Celltrion will introduce its AI technologies for drug development and clinical trials through its own booth. It will also promote the competitiveness of major biosimilar products such as Vegzelma, Yuflyma, and Steqeyma. Celltrion has recently been accelerating the adoption of AI across all areas, from drug development and manufacturing to office work. SK Biopharmaceuticals will set up a booth in the "Digital Health and AI Zone" at the venue and unveil its AI-based drug development strategy and mid- to long-term growth vision based on it. After recently establishing an open innovation hub in New Jersey, the company plans to hold business meetings to expand global collaboration. The goal is to secure a next-generation growth driver to follow its epilepsy drug "Cenobamate."
Drug development companies will seek commercialization opportunities such as joint development and technology exports. Oscotec will explore global collaboration possibilities centered on its drug-resistant cancer treatment and kidney fibrosis treatment candidates. Onconic Therapeutics will unveil the development results of its anticancer drug candidate "Nesuparib," currently in Phase 2 clinical trials, and pursue commercialization discussions. Nesuparib is undergoing clinical development for pancreatic, endometrial, ovarian, and gastric cancers. AriBio will present its Alzheimer's treatment development capabilities along with the vaccine and immune platform technology of its affiliate AriBio Lab. The company plans to focus on developing follow-up pipelines to its oral dementia treatment "AR1001," whose global rights it recently licensed to China's Fosun Pharma.
