"An Era Is Coming When 90% of the World’s Population Will Benefit from K-Healthcare"

Asia’s Largest Healthcare Asset Manager, CBC Group

Unveils Investment Plans at Its First Press Conference in Korea

KIC Also Invests... Supporting K-Healthcare’s Global Expansion

"When it comes to biotech, people often talk about technology and R&D first. Of course, these are important, and Korea's capabilities are exceptional. However, no matter how good the technology is, it ultimately means nothing if it can't reach the market. By combining Korea's outstanding technology with our global capital and network, we can create synergy."
Jikyeol Cho, Head of the Joint Value Creation (JVC) Division at CBC Group

CBC Group, a healthcare-focused asset management firm, held its first-ever press conference in Korea on June 10 in Seoul, unveiling its global strategy and investment plans for the Korean market. Founded in Singapore in 2014, CBC Group currently manages assets (AUM) totaling 10.8 billion dollars, making it the largest in Asia.

28 Trillion Won in Assets Under Management: The World's Largest Healthcare-Focused Investment Firm Emerges... Expectations Grow for K-Healthcare's Global Expansion

Hansoo Kyung, Head of Private Credit and Royalty Division at CBC Group. CBC Group

CBC Group is set to become not only Asia's largest but the world's largest healthcare investment firm. Last month, CBC Group announced its plan to merge with GHO Capital, Europe's largest healthcare investment firm. The combined AUM will reach 21 billion dollars (approximately 28 trillion won). The core goal of this combine is regional synergy. CBC Group excels in 'Trans-Pacific' investments focused on the Asia-Pacific region, while GHO Capital is strong in 'Trans-Atlantic' investments connecting Europe and North America.

Hansoo Kyung, Head of Private Credit and Royalty Division at CBC Group, said, "Once these two pillars are connected, we will have an investment platform that spans North America, Europe, and the entire Asia-Pacific region, which accounts for 90% of global healthcare R&D expenditure."

The investment network linking Asia, Europe, and North America is expected to serve as a springboard for K-healthcare's entry onto the global stage. Cho said, "Korea has excellent capabilities in science, clinical development, and manufacturing, and there is great potential in biotechnology, beauty, biosimilars, and novel drug development." Since acquiring Hugel in 2021, CBC Group has become well known in Korea, with cumulative investments in the country totaling about 1.5 billion dollars (2 trillion won), including co-investments. The group has also obtained a GP (General Partner) license to directly establish and manage funds in Korea over the long term. CBC Group also holds a positive assessment of the Korean bio ecosystem. Cho noted, "There are around 1,400 biotech companies, and because the domestic market is small, there is a strong tendency to target the global market from the beginning."

"K-Biotech: Strong Technology, But Growth Limited by Lack of Funding and Global Networks"

Jikyeol Cho, Head of the Joint Value Creation (JVC) Division at CBC Group. CBC Group

Nevertheless, both executives have identified clear structural limitations in Korean biotech. Cho pointed out, "Korean companies tend to license out their technologies too early due to lack of funding, signing agreements that allow other companies to purchase or use their intellectual property (IP) such as patents, technologies, materials, or know-how." He added, "As a result, the final deal size often ends up being only about one-tenth that of China's."

He also took a critical view of the practice of treating IPOs as the ultimate goal. Cho said, "In biotech, an IPO is not the end but the beginning," and believes that, given the technological capabilities and potential of Korean companies, they can create even greater opportunities. "A decade ago, China used to buy Korean technology, but now the situation is different," he said. "Chinese biotech companies, which are able to secure substantial funding and push ahead to the end, are taking away 350 billion to 400 billion won in cash per deal." Furthermore, excluding biosimilars, Korea has only received about nine new drug approvals from the U.S. FDA in the past 20 years, mostly concentrated among major firms such as LG Chem, SK Biopharmaceuticals, and Yuhan Corporation.

CBC Group's solution is not to acquire entire Korean companies, but to license individual new drug IPs from biotech and pharmaceutical companies, establish separate operating entities under its funds, and directly hire global experts in these entities to lead clinical trials and commercialization. To this end, it is currently preparing a biotech fund with Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) as the anchor investor. This is also notable as the first case where KIC, Korea’s sovereign wealth fund, is participating as a direct co-investor in the overseas expansion of Korean companies.

Kyung said, "The partnership with KIC is meaningful in connecting Korean companies with strong technological capabilities to institutional investors seeking global investment opportunities, and demonstrates our long-term commitment to the Korean market." The tentatively named 'NewBridge' fund has a target size of 300 million dollars (about 450 billion won), and participation will be open to other domestic and international LPs in addition to KIC. The first closing is targeted at over 200 million dollars, with plans to complete it within this summer.

Cho said, "With the combine with GHO, adding the European and North American network, Korean biotech will have a path to enter global markets faster and at higher value," adding, "For investors, it will also create new opportunities to enter the rapidly growing global healthcare market." Kyung noted, "Healthcare is the sector where specialized investment firms have the highest success rate," and emphasized, "Given the complexity of business models, clinical development, and regulatory issues, proper investment is impossible without deep expertise." He concluded, "We are the only global investment firm that can support the entire healthcare process from A to Z."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.