The largest comprehensive bio-industry convention in Korea, “BioPlus-Interphex Korea 2024” (hereinafter referred to as BIX 2024), opened on the 10th. This year, the event is characterized by the significant participation of contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), emphasizing the contract development (CDO) aspect that requires technical prowess. Digital healthcare companies had networking times, such as business meetings and corporate presentations, in a special hall.
◇ CDMO Companies Emphasizing CDO Technology
Samsung Biologics opened a solo booth for the first time at this year’s BIX event. Aside from walk-in meetings, they conducted 20 pre-scheduled customer meetings. They expected this number to increase with on-site walk-in meetings.
Samsung Biologics actively promoted their continuously expanding contract manufacturing (CMO) capabilities and new CDO technology platforms. The booth showcased their differentiated contract development service competitiveness and expanded portfolio, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and messenger RNA (mRNA).
Jimin Kim, a professional at Samsung Biologics, said, “Since launching our CDO business in 2018, we have been more actively promoting CDMO in recent years. This year, we are focusing on promoting CDO at our booth as there is relatively little external awareness of Samsung Biologics’ CDO technology,” adding, “We will continue to raise awareness.” Samsung Biologics is also entering the ADC contract development and manufacturing competition, aiming to secure customers as their dedicated ADC drug production facility, noted for next-generation cancer treatments, is set to be completed and operational within the year.
Additionally, Heonchang Lim, the head of Samsung Biologics’ Formulation Development Group, will participate as a speaker at this year’s conference session, introducing the company’s new drug candidate discovery platform, Developick, and CDO capabilities.
Swiss company Lonza also set up a booth this year, emphasizing their CDO business. While Samsung Biologics is strong in animal cell CDO, and companies like Hanmi Pharmaceutical and GC Cell focus on microbial and cell gene therapy CDOs, Lonza claims strength in most modalities of CDO.
Tae-kyung Nam, a BD specialist at Lonza, said, “As domestic bio companies increasingly adopt a license-out strategy rather than focusing on their own R&D needs, they are concentrating on CDO. Working with CDO can facilitate processes such as documentation to FDA or EMA standards,” adding, “Lonza’s unmatched high quality and extensive experience across all modalities from mRNA to ADC are strong advantages.”
GC Cell operated a joint booth with its clinical specimen analysis service subsidiary, GCCL, introducing optimized one-stop CGT solutions from cell gene therapy research to clinical, manufacturing, commercialization, and distribution. They also promoted their bio-logistics services, CellPass and CellTrack, specialized in medical devices, medical supplies, and biopharmaceuticals.
◇ Digital Healthcare Companies in the Spotlight
At the opening ceremony, digital healthcare company Dot was introduced as the most notable first company. Dot develops tactile pads and kiosks for the visually impaired. In 2017, they released the world’s first Braille smartwatch, ‘Dot Watch,’ followed by the ‘Dot Pad,’ which can display various forms such as images, formulas, and shapes on a pad. Previously, assistive devices for the visually impaired could only display text, but Dot Pad allows various visual materials to be implemented on the pad, receiving high praise for delivering much-needed visual information to the visually impaired.
Ju-yoon Kim, CEO of Dot, said, “The visually impaired have relied on Braille, but with the advancement of the digital age, there were difficulties in conveying visual materials,” adding, “We introduced equipment that allows the disabled to recognize various information as it is by touching it with their hands while contemplating ways to deliver visual information.”
Other notable digital healthcare companies at the booths included MEDI-IoT, Smatus Korea, and Able Therapeutics.
MEDI-IoT plans to launch the electronic eye treatment device ‘MEDI-EYE’ within the year. MEDI-EYE is divided into a medical device product with a light source that can treat dry eye and macular degeneration and a wellness version for home use.
Seungbin Paick, CEO of MEDI-IoT, said, “We are discussing the domestic market launch after receiving strategic investment (SI) from Daewoong Pharmaceutical,” adding, “The wellness version is for relieving eye fatigue, but it has been proven effective in reducing corneal damage and inflammation.”
Ho-jung Son, CEO of Smatus Korea, said, “We received FDA certification in May, and we are preparing to apply insurance coverage in Korea,” adding, “Since October last year, we have been conducting business by measuring dental caries for kindergarten children across 25 districts in Seoul through a demonstration project by the city of Seoul.”
In addition, at the BIX 2024 conference site, special halls were set up for bio-materials, components, and equipment, cold chains, etc., showcasing the latest trends in the bio industry.
Kang Kyung-sung, Vice Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy, said, “We have designated five specialized complexes for advanced bio-industries and will provide close support to ensure that private investments by bio-companies are carried out without disruption,” adding, “We will boldly reform unreasonable regulations centered on the specialized complexes and expand tax and financial support.” He also promised, “Based on the innovative product technology development roadmap, we will create an environment for developing 3,000 technologies and track records by 2030, and foster the digital healthcare industry, which can make a new leap forward through the convergence of information and communication technology and artificial intelligence (AI) technology, as a core growth engine.”
송혜영 기자 hybrid@etnews.com