The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS, Minister HAN Seongsook) announced that bio venture businesses supported by MSS will participate in “BIO Japan 2025,” to be held in Yokohama, Japan, starting Wednesday, October 8, and in “Nordic Life Science Days (NLS Days),” to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Monday, October 13.

BIO Japan is the largest bio event in Asia, with more than 1,000 companies from 34 countries participating and over 22,000 partnership meetings taking place. Following 2024, MSS will again operate the integrated promotional booth “K-Startup Biotechnology Pavilion (Startup@BIO)” at BIO Japan in 2025, together with the Korea Institute of Toxicology, Chungbuk Technopark, and Gyeongbuk Technopark, featuring 30 domestic bio venture businesses.

In addition, in 2025, investment relations (IR) events and conferences will be held consecutively on the second day (October 9) and the third day (October 10), with participation from Japanese and global venture capital firms and pharmaceutical companies, including DCI Partners, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, and Boehringer Ingelheim.

Among the participating companies, those involved in the overseas demonstration project jointly supported by MSS and Shonan iPark stand out for their active engagement. Youth Bio Global will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan’s Human Life Cord Co., Ltd. for joint research and development and the establishment of a joint venture. In addition, YiPSCELL will present as the Korean representative at “The Pitch of BIO Japan,” organized by the BIO Japan host committee on Friday, October 10, where biotech ventures from Korea, Japan, and Taiwan will conduct investment relations (IR) presentations.

NLS Days is the largest biotechnology partnering event in Northern Europe, held annually in the Medicon Valley region* and attended by more than 1,500 participants. In particular, it has strong expertise in the field of advanced regenerative medicine.

* It is the largest biotechnology cluster in Europe, spanning from Malmö, Sweden, to Copenhagen, Denmark, and home to around 600 companies.

MSS and the Chungbuk Center for Creative Economy and Innovation (CCEI), in collaboration with CCRM Nordic*, which supports the commercialization of advanced regenerative medicine in Europe, will select 10 venture businesses to participate in NLS Days. During NLS Days, MSS plans to provide on-site, close support for these companies in cooperation with CCRM Nordic, including visits to the Swedish bio-innovation ecosystem.

* Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine, which supports the commercialization of advanced regenerative medicine technologies through a collaboration network among research institutions, companies, and investors, has signed an MOU with the Regenerative Medicine Acceleration Foundation (RMAF) (May 2025)

PARK Yong-soon, Director General for Technology Innovation Policy, stated, “The global expansion of domestic bio venture businesses, particularly in Japan, is gradually producing tangible results. We expect that outcomes will accelerate further as support for international joint R&D expands.” He added, “Building on these achievements, we will diversify collaboration channels to regions such as Europe and spare no effort in helping our companies explore new opportunities.”