Korean Firms Break Records at 2025 BIO USA
The Korea Pavilion, an exhibition space organized by the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization and sponsored by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, doubled in scale compared to the previous year to showcase 51 companies at the 2025 BIO International Convention held in Boston from June 16 to 19. [LEE JAE-LIM]
BOSTON — Korea made a stronger showing at the 2025 BIO International Convention (BIO USA), with major players like Samsung Biologics and Celltrion looking to move beyond their core portfolios in contract manufacturing and biosimilars.
The annual bio convention kicked off on Monday in Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, with over 80 Korean companies in total participating for the week-long event.
Fifteen companies — including Samsung Biologics, Celltrion, SK Biopharmaceuticals, Lotte Biologics, Dong-A Socio Group, Prestige Biopharma Group, and EuBiologics — operate individual booths, while a record 51 companies exhibit under the expanded Korea Pavilion, which has doubled in size from last year to cover 560 square meters (669.8 square yards).
Samsung Biologics' booth at the BIO USA 2025. The company is entering the contract research organization (CRO) space to expand on their core portfolio from contract manufacturing. [LEE JAE-LIM]
Samsung Biologics is entering the contract research organization (CRO) space, which support services from the early stages of new drug development through preclinical testing and phase 1 clinical trials. Samsung Biologics has decided to focus on preclinical services using artificial organs and debuted a new drug screening service utilizing organoids on the opening day of the bio event.
Celltrion promotes its new drug development at its booth at the BIO USA 2025 held from June 16 to 19 at the Boston Convention Center. [LEE JAE-LIM]
Celltrion highlights its competitiveness in next-generation drug development, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and novel antibody therapies. In March, Celltrion received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for a phase 1 investigational new drug application for CT-P70, a new ADC drug candidate.
SK Biopharmaceuticals set up its first independent booth this year to market its epilepsy treatment Xcopri. Chey Yoon-chung, vice president and head of business development at SK Biopharmaceuticals, is participating in the meetings to lead the company’s business expansion efforts. Chey Yoon-chung is the eldest daughter of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.
Lotte Biologics CEO James Park, left, and Lotte Corporation Executive Vice President Shin Yoo-yeol, engage in conversation to an executive from India's Dr. Reddy's Laboratories at the Boston Convention Center on June 16. [BIO USA 2025 PRESS]
Lotte Biologics, another contract manufacturer, promotes its upgraded ADC facility in Syracuse plant and its development plans for Songdo bio complex. Shin Yoo-Yeol, executive vice president of Lotte Corporation and the only son of Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, was seen touring the exhibition floor alongside Lotte Biologics CEO James Park. The duo visited booths of global companies including Swedish biopharma firm Cytiva, India’s Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, and U.S.-based medical and research supplier Thermo Fisher. They also stopped by Korean exhibitors such as Dong-A Socio Holdings, Celltrion and SK pharmteco.
Geopolitical tensions were also palpable at the event, underscored by the absence of WuXi Biologics, a key competitor to Korean firms in both contract manufacturing and CRO services, for the second consecutive year. The Chinese company is boycotting the event to protest a U.S. legislative proposal known as the Biosecure Act, which targets to slash federal funding and contracts for certain Chinese entities that “poses a risk to national security.”
Lee Seung-kyou, vice president of Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization (KoreaBio), anticipated that Korea has a limited time span to secure a meaningful position in the global biotech landscape as heavier investment and attention are spotlighted globally.
“Especially countries like India and Thailand — they’re pouring a huge amount of resources into third markets,” Lee observed. “So Korean companies need to make a quantum leap and position themselves strategically before prospective countries catch up on us.”
The KoreaBio annually organizes the Korea Pavilion. The exhibition space is sponsored by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.
One of the headline events at this year’s convention is a closed-door discussion featuring former U.S. President George W. Bush, alongside BIO CEO John F. Crowley, BIO Board Chair Ted Love, and Genentech’s Fritz Bittenbender. The session, scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday at the convention center, is off-limits to the media.
Lee interpreted Bush’s appearance as a signal of the U.S.’s growing anxiety over China’s rapid growth in the bio industry.
“China is no longer a player that can be dismissed,” Lee said. “It looks like the U.S. is stepping up efforts to reinforce its standing in the global market.”
Around 1,600 companies are serving as exhibitors with their booths in this year’s convention, with more than 20,000 attendees from 72 countries expected to convene globally.
BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]
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