Due to increasing technology transfer and partnership opportunities in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, the role of business development (BD) is becoming increasingly important.

Also, demand is growing for the ability to move beyond R&D that advances science-based technologies to securing actual deals.

BD is a position that identifies and introduces promising technologies or new products based on domestic and international market analysis and creates business opportunities such as technology transfer, strategic alliances, and joint research.

This means that it is a key department that brings in new products or drives partnerships that will drive company growth, and it is directly tied to the export (licensing out) of new technologies.

Domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies are achieving success and making licensing out deals overseas, thanks to increased investment in new drug development. In fact, in 2019, there were 14 licensing-out deals (worth about KRW 8.5 trillion) in Korea, and in 2021, the number of contracts reached 31, a threefold increase from the previous year, setting a new record.

In particular, large-scale licensing deals are emerging, whose upfront payments exceed KRW 1 trillion per technology, although their milestone achievement progress remains to be seen.

As pharmaceutical companies, which used to focus on the domestic market, are entering the global stage, the BD department is becoming at the forefront of business development, transferring technology to overseas partners and leading joint development, which is adding strength to the growing view that BD capabilities directly affect corporate competitiveness.

In fact, domestic bio companies are strengthening their strategy of developing their own products from the non-clinical to early clinical stages and then licensing them out.

Specifically, they are actively pursuing entry into the global market by establishing overseas subsidiaries and hiring local BD personnel.

" “Lack of experience is the biggest challenge” ... Systematic training is essential.

The problem is that domestic companies are still facing difficulties in the global BD process, due to the lack of negotiating power, lack of experience in evaluating technology value, and lack of global communication experience.

A representative of Pharma Ventures, who the reporter met at the 2025 Young BD Workshop hosted by the Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF), expressed disappointment in the “storytelling” poser of Korean companies.

“Korean companies have very good scientific capabilities and technology, but they often fail to develop their assets to the level required by global big pharma,” said a Pharmaventures official. ”Companies often concentrate on a single pipeline, so when if they license out their technology, the company's is virtually just giving out their whole value.”

It is also important to reduce the gap between investors and Korean companies when it comes to technology transfer and deal-making, but it is often assessed that Korean companies cannot translate science into 'value and business opportunities'.

Ultimately, for Korean companies to find opportunities overseas, in addition to R&D, there is a growing need to develop specialized personnel who can turn these into commercial opportunities.

In the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry, there is a common view that, as the saying goes, “it's all about people,” and that talent investment is important for new drug development. However, there is also a realistic point of view that there are still not enough educational opportunities to systematically train BD talents.

In particular, young BD managers with 1-5 years of experience are in very high demand for training to strengthen their expertise, as they work in an environment where it is difficult to gain practical experience.

In this situation, the 2025 Young BD Workshop held by KDDF in early April sought to foster the next generation of BD talent.

This event is a successor to the BD talent development workshop that began in 2018 through the pan-ministerial new drug development project and is a program that focuses on young BD practitioners in their first to fifth years to develop practical global technology transfer capacity.

Young-min Park, head of the National New Drug Development Project Team, said, “A sophisticated commercialization strategy is needed from the early stages for successful new drug development. I hope this workshop will serve as a stepping stone for fostering young BD talents with expertise and practical capabilities that meet global standards.”

With KDDF at the forefront, BD is responsible for the company's future growth engines, such as closing new product licensing agreements and building partnerships in the long term. As such, the company is showing a consensus on securing and cultivating talent.

An industry official added, “I think the cultivation of BD talent is an important factor that can turn Korea's quality technology into commercial success. I think that the education and efforts related to BD, along with the cultivation of various talents in the pharmaceutical and bio sector, will play a major role in creating a Korean bio ecosystem in the future.”