AusBiotech joined the largest Australian delegation to date at BioKorea, fostering our international connections with biotech and medtech companies and demonstrating why Australia is a global leader within the sector.
Two dedicated conference sessions on Australia were held at the conference. AusBiotech’s National Projects Manager Dr Claretta D’Souza opened the discussion on Australia’s biotech, highlighting the strengths of our pipeline. This was followed the next day with AusBiotech’s Regenerative Medicine Advisory Group members Dr Tim Oldham and Dr Ross MacDonald who demonstrated the strengths, opportunities, and challenges of Australia’s blossoming regenerative medicines scene. There was a strong interest in regenerative medicine in Korea, with a whole-day session dedicated to the topic.
Australian Ambassador James Choi, and Trade Commissioner Rodney Commerford joined AusBiotech and others at Austrade’s Australian stand and welcome reception. These two occasions were well attended and valuable as they further enhanced collaboration opportunities between the two countries.
Korea has one the largest ageing populations in the world, and alongside Australia and Japan, the Korean pharmaceuticals market is one of the most developed in Asia. The Korean Government has dedicated US$18 billion to innovation, of which US$5 billion is targeted to the health and biotech sector. There was a strong interest at the conference in partnership opportunities with Australian biotech, particularly in regenerative medicines.
AusBiotech is looking forward to welcoming a large Korean delegation to AusBiotech 2019, 30 October – 1 November in Melbourne.
The Australian Life Sciences Showcase at BioKorea 2019, 17 – 19 April, was led by Austrade, and supported by AusBiotech, MTPConnect, NSW Government and the Victorian Government. The delegation included 18 companies this year, increasing from eight in 2018.