PR

News

notice

Korea Advanced Regenerative Medicine Industry Association, "Investing in Bio Companies," CARM Open Innovation Investment Conference Successfully Concluded

2023.06.21

Korea Advanced Regenerative Medicine Industry Association, "Investing in Bio Companies," CARM Open Innovation Investment Conference Successfully Concluded 

 

Open to help revitalize the advanced regenerative bio industry and attract investment from promising companies

Co-hosted by the Interdepartmental Regenerative Medical Technology Development Unit

Sponsored by Korea Venture Capital Association, Korea Investment Partners, and Daily Partners

IR presentations by 16 regenerative medicine companies and inquiries and advice from about 55 domestic investors

 

첨단재생의료산업협회와 범부처재생의료기술개발사업단이 공동주최한 ‘제2회 CARM 오픈이노베이션 투자 콘퍼런스’가 21일 서울 삼성동 코엑스에서 성황리에 개최됐다 

 

The 2nd CARM Open Innovation Investment Conference, co-organized by the Association for Advanced Regenerative Medicine (CARM) and the Pan-Ministerial Regenerative Medicine Technology Development Project, was held on the 21st at E Hall on the 3rd floor of COEX, Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

 

The event, held for the second time this year, was organized to revitalize the stagnant investment atmosphere as investment sentiment in bio companies has frozen.

 

Designed to revitalize Korea's advanced regenerative bio industry and help promising companies attract investment, the event was sponsored by the Korea Venture Capital Association, Korea Investment Partners, and Daily Partners.

 

CARM Chairman Kang Kyung-sun, Eun Sung-ho, Director of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Advanced Medical Support Center, Jo In-ho, Director of the Pan-Ministry Regenerative Medical Technology Development Project, Noh Yeon-hong, Chairman of the Korea Pharmaceutical & Bio Association, Hwang Man-soon, CEO of Korea Investment Partners, and Yoon Gun-soo, Chairman of the Korea Venture Capital Association, delivered congratulatory remarks at the event.

 

"At a time when investment is difficult both domestically and internationally, I hope that this event will generate a lot of discussion about investment in pharmaceutical and bio companies," said Chairman Kang Kyung-sun in his welcome speech. "As the baby boomer generation is increasingly interested in health and longevity, and related businesses are expected to explode, the pharmaceutical and bio industry will inevitably become a mainstream industry in the future. If people here are interested in and invest in pharma and bio as well as advanced regenerative medicine, I am confident that companies will be able to deliver tangible products and reciprocate."

 

In his congratulatory remarks, Hwang Man-soon, CEO of Korea Investment Partners, said, "There are many factors why investment in unlisted or early-stage bio companies is not reviving, but I think one of them is that the stock prices of listed companies are not rising too much." He added, "I would like to make a suggestion to limit short selling in growth industries such as the bio industry. In the past, many bio companies have listed through technology assessment. I am grateful that the Korea Exchange is trying to make it easier for bio companies to go public this year, and I believe that those in the bio industry can overcome the difficult times if they make efforts with a sense of camaraderie."

 

The event kicked off with a keynote lecture by Mr. Gunsoo Yoon, Chairman of the Korea Venture Capital Association. In his keynote lecture, Mr. Yoon explained investors' thoughts on the changes in the bio market.


"The domestic bio market seemed to explode in 2020, with 17 bio companies going public under the Technology Special Listing, but in the first half of 2023, there were no new investments and only follow-on investments. There is not much money waiting to be invested. The stock prices of listed companies need to be higher than now, and the technology of biotechs needs to be higher."

Mr. Yoon continued, "For bio companies, the current difficulties can be an opportunity for a new leap forward. It is a great achievement that 15 of the top 50 companies on the KOSDAQ are bio companies. We should try to promote these achievements to attract more investments and listings. The development of new drugs is slow, but it is progressing," he said. "In the future, the market size of the bio industry will become larger and larger in the age of aging, so I hope that we can use this as a period of consolidation."

"Investors used to favor companies with diverse pipelines, but now they are looking for companies that are selective and focused on impactful pipelines. In addition, it is essential to develop competitiveness in the global market, and it is necessary to actively embrace new technologies such as AI integration instead of sticking to the existing industry." "To those who still have doubts about bio investment, those who work in or invest in the bio industry should work with anger and do a good job to gain trust," he added.

After the keynote lecture, 16 regenerative medicine companies participated in the IR presentation and received questions and advice from about 55 domestic investors. After the IR presentations, CARM members also had 1:1 consultations with investors.

Sixteen companies participated in the IR and 1:1 consultation, including ▲Nurol Med ▲Maru Therapeutics ▲Mark Helz ▲Bielement ▲System ExOne ▲Acrocell Bioscience ▲Excel Therapeutics ▲Usbio Global ▲InstemCare ▲Alias BioLogics ▲Jinmedicine ▲Clips BNC ▲Pian Biotechnology ▲Pentamedix ▲Primory Therapeutics ▲Happle Science.

The Advanced Regenerative Medicine Industry Association said, "We hope that this event will serve as an opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises and venture companies to take a leap forward through cooperation with many related organizations and investment companies to restore the shrinking investment sentiment in the pharmaceutical bio sector."

Meanwhile, the Association for Advanced Regenerative Medicine (CARM) is a company-oriented organization that aims to revitalize the domestic regenerative medicine industry and lead the global regenerative medicine market, and was launched in 2016.

The association strives to support the national budget and improve regulations for the development of the domestic advanced regenerative medicine industry and to revitalize investment in related companies. In particular, it worked to pass the Advanced Regenerative Bio Act in the National Assembly in 2018 and contributed to the passage of a preliminary feasibility study of KRW 600 billion in 2020 for advanced regenerative medicine research and industry, as well as the establishment of the Advanced Regenerative Medicine Business Unit in 2021.

The association's subcommittees include the External Cooperation Committee, Policy Committee, and Corporate Exchange Committee, and the Corporate Exchange Committee, which organized the event (Chairman Lee Yi-il, CEO of Xcell Therapeutics), aims to find ways to support venture and startup companies in the field of regenerative medicine and contribute to building an integrated and sustainable industrial ecosystem through expanding exchanges between the corporate and public sectors.

Source : Biotimes (http://www.biotimes.co.kr)