Chinese pharmaceutical companies are starting to enter the domestic pharmaceutical and biotechnology market in earnest.

This was the main observation made by the Korean industry at ‘BIO Korea 2024,’ cohosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute.

The activities of major Chinese pharmaceutical and biotech companies at this year's BIO Korea attracted industry-wide attention.

Among the companies, WuXi Biologics, a Chinese company that has grown into a global antibody contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), received the most attention. It set up a booth at the front of the venue and actively communicated with visitors and representatives from domestic pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

With its CDMO competitors, LONZA and FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnology (hereinafter “Fujifilm”), also setting up booths at the event, it was evident that the competition among global CDMOs to expand their territories had begun in earnest.

The companies seem to be working to expand their CDMO business through cooperation with domestic pharmaceutical and biotech companies. On the other hand, domestic companies competing in the CDMO market, such as Celltrion and Samsung Biologics, did not open their booths at the event.

One Chinese company that stood out was Pharmaron Clinical, a CRO and CDMO company. Although the company’s size is not as large as other CDMOs like Wuxi, but the company actively engaged in talks to collaborate with domestic companies.

A representative of a biotech company that participated in the event said, "Chinese companies most actively participated in this year’s BIO Korea event. They seem to be actively working to increase partnerships with domestic pharmaceutical and biotech companies to produce their treatments.”

In addition, BeiGene, which has emerged as a strong player in the global anti-cancer drug market, also drew attention for its active cooperation activities at BIO Korea. Rather than setting up a booth, the company participated in the conference and held its own business briefing to strengthen partnerships with domestic Korean biotech companies.

At the ‘Bio‧Pharmaceutical Global Open Innovation Cooperation and Activation Strategy’ session of the conference, BeiGene’s key executives in charge of BeiGene Asia introduced the company’s strengths and actively engaged in communication with domestic companies.

During the session, BeiGene emphasized its financial resources and clinical strengths as a benefit.

In fact, BeiGene’s self-developed anti-cancer drugs, such as Brukinsa (zanubrutinib), Tevimbra (tiselizumab), and Partruvix (pamiparib), are generating sales not only in China but also in the global market.

The anticancer drug Brukinsa has been approved in more than 70 countries worldwide and is approved by the US FDA for five indications.

In the first quarter of this year, BeiGene’s sales reached USD 752 million (KRW 1.0288 trillion), according to the company's latest financial result that it had released the previous day.

Adam Roach, Vice President and Head of Asia Pacific at BeiGene, said, “Our biggest strength is that we don't need a separate CRO because we run our own clinical trials. Rather than using a CRO, we use our own internal clinical team that consists of over 3,000 people. We conduct more than 130 clinical trials in-house in about 48 locations."

In the following lecture, Evan Goldberg, Vice President of  Business Development at BeiGene, said, “Global big pharma companies used to be interested in only Japan in the Asia-Pacific region, but this is not the case anymore. Asia-Pacific countries, including Korea, have entered the global pharma and bio ecosystem, which is evidenced by the fact that Korean pharma and bio companies have been making frequent global technology transfers in recent years."

Goldberg added, "BeiGene is currently working with global big pharma companies like Amgen, BMS, and Novartis, in addition to small and medium-sized biotechs. Some of these companies are seeking to enter the Asian market through the partnership, while Asian companies seek partnerships with the dream of going global."

The domestic pharma and biotech companies that participated in BIO Korea have also noted the growth of Chinese companies and agreed on the need to revisit the companies’ treatments.

An official from a pharmaceutical and biotech consulting firm who requested anonymity, said, "BeiGene’s clinical strength is definitely attracting attention in the global market. In the past, it only had a large number of trial enrollees in China, but the company is now actively conducting clinical trials in the global market. Considering the recent clinical trials it has been announcing, it’s time for the company to reestablish its position not just in Asia but also in the global market.