Plus deals involving Takeda/Puma, SillaJen/Basilea, Celltrion/Abpro, METiS/Voronoi, Yuhan/AtoGen, Biocytogen/FineImmune and Avance/C3.

An analysis of the Korea Drug Development Fund’s selection of projects for R&D grants so far this year shows more applications and particular support for domestic cell and gene therapy projects, reflecting the strong interest in this area globally.

Weak financing sentiment for Korean bioventures continues this year with sharply lower fund inflows from venture capital and other investors, as well as delayed or withdrawn IPOs, in Q2. Amyloid Solution, Rznomics, and UPPthera were among the top fundraisers.

A recent forum in South Korea heard from a venture capital executive about the changing IPO and financing environment and how bioventures might be able to cope with these changes.