300 Biotech Companies from Korea and Abroad Gather in Seoul to Share Drug Development and Commercialization Strategies

BIX 2026 Opens... Runs at COEX Through Oct. 30
Spotlights Innovative Technologies, Including AI Drug Development and Next-Generation Obesity Treatments
Discusses Global Collaboration Strategies, Including Technology Exports and M&A

More than 300 domestic and international biotech companies are gathering in Seoul to share next-generation drug development technologies and global commercialization strategies. BioPlus-Interphex Korea 2026 (BIX 2026), which will address key issues facing the biotech industry, from AI-driven drug development and next-generation obesity treatments to investment and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), has opened.

According to the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization (KoreaBIO), BIX 2026 opened on the 28th at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and will run for three days through the 30th. This year, more than 300 companies from Korea and abroad are participating, operating 600 exhibition booths. The event has grown compared with last year, when 277 companies operated 550 booths. It will also feature 30 conference sessions with more than 90 domestic and international experts. The organizers are aiming to attract more than 10,000 visitors.

This year's event is being held under the theme "Real Innovation Glows in the Dark." It focuses not only on drug development technologies but also on strategies for turning research and development achievements into actual businesses through investment and technology exports.

BioPlus-Interphex Korea 2026 (BIX 2026) opened on the 28th at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Lee Seongmin, reporter

Participating companies include domestic firms such as Samsung Biologics, Samsung Bioepis, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, and BINEX, as well as global companies such as Lonza, Sartorius, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Merck. They will showcase technologies and products spanning the biotech industry, from drug research and development and contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) to materials, components, and equipment. A dedicated exhibition area will also showcase pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and equipment that use AI. Canada, this year's guest country, is sending a delegation of about 30 biotech and healthcare companies to Korea to explore opportunities to collaborate with domestic companies.

The conference will focus on next-generation treatment technologies and global commercialization strategies. On the opening day, Dr. Sally Temple, a world-renowned scholar in neural stem cell research, will discuss research into neurological disorders using human stem cells and the future direction of treatment technologies. Other key topics include AI-driven drug development, radiopharmaceuticals (RPT), and space biopharmaceuticals. Hanmi Pharmaceutical, D&D Pharmatech, and China's Innovent Biologics will discuss the competitive landscape of the obesity treatment market following the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drug class.

The second day will spotlight global biotech M&A and the "NewCo" business model, in which drug candidates are developed through separate legal entities. The conference will also address how overseas investors evaluate Korean biotech companies and their strategies for technology transactions. It is expected to present new business opportunities for domestic biotech companies, for which raising funds and securing overseas partners have become key challenges.

Lee Seung-kyou, vice chairman of the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization, said, "As advances in next-generation treatments and AI technologies coincide with changes in the investment and M&A landscape and intensifying competition in global markets, business strategies in the biotech industry are also changing rapidly. We hope this year's BIX will provide a forum for key players in each field to share insights into actual market changes and strategies, and to find new partners and business opportunities."

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