Experts shared views at a recent conference in Seoul on how the Korean biopharma industry has evolved and what needs to be done to move forward in the next 10 years. Policy efficiency and family ownership in the sector came in for particular scrutiny, with some calling for sweeping changes. 

Private Company Edition: Sironax completed a $200m series B round while IDRx launched with $122m and OriCell raised $120m in series C funds, joining end-of-July $100m-plus fundraiser Carmot Therapeutics, which closed a $160m series D financing. 

Among the strong performers, Hanmi benefitted from growth for in-house-developed metabolic disease drugs and China cold syrup sales and Daewoong was boosted by exports of botulinum toxin, while Boryung reported record quarterly sales helped by its flagship antihypertensive.

Cidara gets $30m up front for US rights to the weekly echinocandin candidate for candidemia and invasive candidiasis. Takeda walks away from oncolytic virus candidate licensed from Turnstone.