Invest KOREA

KOTRA hosts 'Korea-Switzerland Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Partnership' in Zurich
The cooperation in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries will lead to big export opportunities

KOTRA (President YU Jeoung Yeol) and the Korean Embassy to Switzerland (Ambassador Keum Chang Rok) will jointly host 'Korea-Switzerland Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Partnership' (forums and consulting sessions) on May 16 at Zurich Marriott Hotel in Switzerland. To celebrate the 60th anniversary year of Swiss-Korean friendship, this event is put together and convene global pharma companies based in Switzerland and Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies from Korea to upgrade their cooperative channels through open innovation.

Switzerland, as one of the leading nation of cutting-edge technologies, is home to about 700 global pharma companies and over 200 research labs, providing a state-of-the-art ecosystem of biotechnology. Buttressed by the strong biotech infrastructure, the pharma industry takes up 30% of the nation's export as the main engine of its economy.

The major goals of this event, that will serve as a close cooperation channel of the two countries, are to identify potential demands from the top global pharmaceutical companies in Switzerland, recommend Korea companies which are competent enough to become their partners. It will present attendees and participants with an array of programs, including △ Korea-Switzerland Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Partnership Forum, △ pinpoint consultation sessions with representative pharmaceutical companies worldwide, △ Supportive projects for global M&A in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

In 'Korea-Switzerland Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Partnership Forum', Interpharma CEO Dr René P Buholzer will outline what drove the success of the Swiss biotech industry and suggest ideas on how Korean companies can better cooperate with Swiss pharmaceutical companies when entering into the market in the region.

Then follow pitch and consultation sessions for promising Swiss startups and Korean companies in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries in 'Supportive projects for global M&A in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries'. It is noteworthy that a number of domestic biotech and pharmaceutical companies are paying attention to M&A to expand their pipelines and distribution channels, which is evidenced by the fact that the total amount of global M&A of these industries last year recorded USD 299 billion.

* a pipeline: a set of drug candidates that an individual pharmaceutical company has under discovery or development

Executive Vice President Kim Tae Ho of KOTRA's Economic Cooperation & Trade Affairs said, "As this year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations Between Switzerland and the Republic of Korea, the two countries will enjoy more opportunities to join hands than ever." and "Our bilateral trade volume reached an all-time high in 2022, and Korea's export to Switzerland in the first quarter this year is also ramping up by 58% with vehicle and medicine at its heart. We will do everything we can to expand technological cooperation between the two countries and our export to Switzerland, particularly in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries which demonstrate enormous growth potential."



Source: Invest KOREA (May 15, 2023)