An accord between business promotion powerhouses: the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-pharma Manufacturers Association (KPBMA) and Basel Area Business & Innovation with its biotech accelerator BaseLaunch, has been signed to help create a springboard for Korean biopharmaceutical companies to enter European markets.
The consortium will act as a conduit to seek out and channel development opportunities for established pharmaceutical companies and potential startups from the Republic of Korea, with a view to them establishing a base in the Basel Area, Europe’s leading biotech hub.
The three-year agreement was signed recently by the various partners, in the presence of the Swiss Ambassador-designate Dagmar Schmidt Tartagli, at the Embassy of Switzerland, in the Republic of Korea’s capital Seoul.
Ambassador-designate Schmidt Tartagli welcomed the agreement and described it as a reinforcement of the strong political, economic, scientific, and cultural ties that have been developed between Switzerland and the Republic of Korea since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1963.
The Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-pharma Manufacturers Association’s Chairman, Dr. Hee-Mok Won said that KPBMA and the participating companies were looking forward to collaborating with life science companies in the Basel Area. The participating companies of the Swiss Basel Area Business & Innovation KPBMA Customized Program are among the top pharma companies in Korea. These include the Yuhan Corporation, Ildong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Chong Kun Dang pharmaceutical Corp. and Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd.
“I expect to strive for more global open innovation and collaboration, together with KPBMA’s similar efforts in Boston (USA) and other emerging markets,” said the Chairman.
KPBMA writes in their statement: “Basel Area is the base of Europe’s global Big Biopharma, where more than 700 companies and 1,000 research groups are nesting. The R&D investment in the Basel area alone is about $21 billion (about 24 trillion Korean won), equivalent to the overall market size of the domestic pharmaceutical and bio-industry in the Republic of Korea.”
Chairman Hee-Mok Won adds: “Working with Basel Area Business & Innovation will be a great opportunity to expand the network in Europe, and we will actively support Korean pharma and bio-pharma to go to the European market.”
The KPBMA has developed the customized program in conjunction with Basel Area Business and Innovation and its therapeutics accelerator BaseLaunch, to support Korean biopharmaceutical companies wishing to enter the European market. Christof Klöpper, CEO of Basel Area Business & Innovation, says: ”The biopharma industry of Korea is very dynamic and will play a growing role on the global market. We are pleased to be able to support the international ambitions and provide a launchpad for them in the Basel Area.”
