Seoul – September 09, 2026 -- The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of Korea (MFDS) concluded the 12th Global Bio Conference (GBC) on August 28, drawing roughly 5,600 participants from 19 countries to the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas for three days of talks on biopharmaceutical regulation and technology.
Forums drew hundreds of specialists across vaccines, proteins and advanced therapies
Held from August 26-28 under the theme 'The Great Leap in Bio, Accelerating Innovation,' the event featured 75 biopharmaceutical experts delivering presentations across specialized tracks. The Recombinant Protein Products Forum attracted 591 attendees, the Advanced Biopharmaceuticals Policy and Quality Forum drew 483, and the Vaccine Forum logged 462 participants, combining online and offline sessions.
MFDS held 23 bilateral and multilateral meetings to back Korean exporters
The conference produced five regulatory cooperation meetings among national authorities, 16 one-on-one sessions pairing nine domestic Korean companies with overseas regulators, and two meetings between foreign companies and MFDS. Regulators from Canada, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia met directly with Korean firms to discuss overseas approval and licensing pathways, aimed at accelerating K-Bio's entry into export markets.
Korea and Japan mark ninth year of joint review workshop covering iPSC therapy
Japanese and Korean regulators used their ninth annual joint workshop to compare review cases for advanced biopharmaceuticals, including the world's first approved induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) therapy. Separately, regulatory authorities from Korea, the United States, Japan and Europe discussed current approval frameworks and review cooperation for recombinant protein products.
Korea proposes reference-country status to Indonesia on plasma supply cooperation
In a bilateral meeting with Indonesia's Food and Drug Authority (BPOM), MFDS discussed stable source plasma supply and proposed that Korea be registered as a reference country for Indonesian drug approvals, building on existing regulatory trust between the two agencies. Both sides agreed to continue working-level talks to implement the arrangement.
MFDS said it intends to expand GBC as a recurring venue for coordinating global biopharmaceutical regulatory policy and supporting Korean industry's international market access.