Industry officials said South Korea’s pharmaceutical and biotech sector must turn its strong technology into commercial products and better patient outcomes if it hopes to compete in global markets. They also called for using emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing in drug development, expanding the use of digital medical devices in clinical settings, and strengthening both cooperation among companies and institutional support.

News1 hosted the Global Bio Forum 2026 (GBF 2026) in the Park Ballroom on the fifth floor of the Conrad Seoul hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, on November 10. The forum, held under the theme “K-Bio and Healthcare: Capturing the Global Market,” was organized to discuss ways to strengthen the global competitiveness of South Korea’s bio and healthcare industries.

In a panel discussion on the same theme, participants examined global expansion strategies for South Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies and ways to boost the industry’s competitiveness.

Choi Young-gi, head of the Central Research Institute at Yuhan, stressed that drug developers should use new technologies such as AI but must also pursue strategies that lead to clinical trials and commercialization.

Choi said companies should build clinical strategies from the earliest stages of drug development, identifying suitable patient groups and using biomarkers to improve treatment outcomes. AI and diverse biological data can help researchers analyze patient characteristics more precisely and raise the odds of success in clinical trials, he said.

Kim Na-young, vice president of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, discussed the potential of new treatment models that combine medicines with digital technology and data.

Drugs produce therapeutic effects through biological processes, she said, while digital technology can support patients’ daily treatment routines and health management. She added that personalized management technologies could be especially valuable for patients who need to maintain weight loss over the long term.

In medical devices, panelists said the main challenges go beyond developing the technology. Companies must secure clinical evidence and see regulations improved so that products can be adopted in real-world medical settings.

Kang Dae-yeop, vice president of Seers, stressed that wearable medical devices and remote monitoring services need clinical evidence, developed with medical institutions from the product development stage, before they can be used in hospitals.

Kang also pointed to institutional limits in South Korea’s remote monitoring market. Services that monitor the real-time health of patients after discharge are used overseas, but South Korea lacks a sufficient institutional foundation for them, he said.

Yang Eun-young, president and head of bio business development at HLB Group, also highlighted the importance of strategic cooperation between companies seeking to compete in global markets. Because each company has different technologies and capabilities, she said, they need cooperative models that bring together expertise from different fields rather than trying to handle every step on their own.

The panelists also agreed that South Korean companies need more than technological development to compete globally. They also need an environment in which they can validate the value of their products at home and build commercialization experience, the panelists said.

Park Mi-seon, PM at the K-Health Future Initiative, who moderated the discussion, summed up the panel’s views. “In addition, South Korean companies need to move beyond competing on technology individually, strengthen cooperation among research institutions, medical institutions and businesses, and build business models that can succeed in global markets,” she said.

Keith Christopher, a director at JNPMEDI, advised that the success of global drug and medical device approvals hinges on strategic decisions made early in development. Companies that prepare in advance, from clinical trial design and choosing an approval pathway to consulting with regulators beforehand, can improve their chances of entering global markets, he said.

Christopher, a regulatory expert who worked as a reviewer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for six years, stressed that “FDA reviewers will be able to review materials as they come in, and companies will be able to receive necessary feedback more frequently.” He added, “These changes could cut the time needed to begin clinical trials by about six months to a year.”

Industry officials said South Korea’s pharmaceutical and biotech sector must turn its stro …

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