À̹ÌÁö È®´ë South Korean bio names are prepping virtual presentations for the 2020 BIO International Convention (BIO USA) scheduled for June 8-11 to be held online for the first time this year amid ongoing pandemic scare.
The event¡¯s organizer Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) said the decision was based on the impact of COVID-19, the safety of the attendees and global health recommendations regarding large in-person gatherings.
The BIO USA, the world¡¯s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, had been held in major cities across the U.S. every June. This year¡¯s was initially due in San Diego. The event attracted some 16,000 companies from 67 countries last year.
From Korea, 37 biotech and pharmaceutical companies are known to participate in the event this year and they include the country¡¯s top biosimilar manufacturers such as Celltrion and Samsung BioLogics. The two had planned to set up a booth at the exhibition site to showcase their pipeline and investment case to potential partners and investors, but they are now working on a Plan B.
À̹ÌÁö È®´ë A Celltrion official said the company is collecting feedback on alternatives from customer-facing field departments, adding the main reason for attending BIO USA is to network with foreign investors and companies.
Samsung BioLogics is considering a virtual tour tailored to individual customers and a video conference.
Earlier, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) announced they will run their forthcoming conferences fully digital. The AACR decided to hold a webcast-based conference on Apr. 27-28, while the ASCO will go to a virtual platform for its conference due to be held from May 29 to Jun. 2.
The Digestive Disease Week (DDW) which had been scheduled to be held in Chicago on May 2-5 was finally cancelled due to the COVID-19 spread.
Celltrion planned to make a presentation about new clinical trial data of Remsima SC. Last year the conference served for the company to announce data to demonstrate the efficacy of the subcutaneous version of the autoimmune disease biosimilar.
By Pulse
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]