이 기사는 2021년 07월 15일 07시52분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

South Korean biopharmaceutical companies will collaborate with Indian companies to build a global supply chain.

The Indian Embassy in Seoul and Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE) will hold an online meeting with CEOs of biopharmaceutical companies on Friday. The hosts selected and invited leading companies from Korea and India in four sectors: vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, cell and gene therapy products, and molecular diagnostics and genomic analysis.

India's pharmaceutical market, which is now worth $43 billion, is growing at an average annual rate of 9.5%.

In the vaccine sector, SK Bioscience has been invited from Korea while Wockhardt and Dr.Reddy's Laboratories were chosen among Indian pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Mumbai, Wockhardt has produced and supplied U.K.-based AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine. Dr.Reddy's Laboratories acquired Wockhardt's generics division in five Asian countries last year.

In the biopharmaceutical sector, LG Chem and Biocon Biologics, a subsidiary of Biocon, have been invited to the event. LG Chem has biosimilars for autoimmune diseases such as adalimumab BS MA, referencing the drug Humira, and Eucept, an Enbrel biosilimar.

Daewoong Pharma and Stempeutics will seek opportunities to collaborate in the cell and gene therapy products sector. Daewoong Pharma entered the cell therapy contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business this year after receiving a manufacturing license for advanced biopharmaceuticals from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

Stempeutics is a biotech firm specialized in mesenchymal stem cell technology. The company received the green light from the Drug Controller General of India last year to launch its Stempeucel therapy to treat critical limb ischemia (CLI) due to Buerger’s disease and atherosclerotic peripheral arterial disease.

LabGenomics and Syngene International will join hands among diagnostic firms. The two companies will reportedly review the possibility of producing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic kits and immunology diagnostic kits in India. They are also considering exchanging technology related to next-generation sequencing (NGS) services.

LabGenomics, a company specializing in molecular diagnostics, recorded best financial performance ever in 2020 thanks to exports of Covid-19 related products. India has the strongest demand for LabGenomics’ diagnostic kits. Syngene International focuses on new drug development.

“Korea is the country which stands out in research and development, while India has a strong manufacturing ecosystem and protects intellectual property rights,” said an industry source. “Domestic companies entering the global market will have competitiveness if they cooperate with Indian companies.” (Reporting by A-ran Sim)