Biotech mission to Japan

This year again, the EU-Japan Centre organised a business mission for SMEs and Cluster representatives in the Life Sciences field. Nine SMEs and one Cluster took part in the four-day mission from 10-13 October, which consisted of participation in the one-day EU-Japan Biotech &Pharma Partnering Conference in Osaka and three days of partnering and joint exhibition at BioJapan in Yokohama.

The EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference is a partnering event jointly organised by the EU-Japan Centre and the Osaka Prefectural Government. It is supported by various Japanese and European clusters as well as EU Member States’ embassies and trade promotion organisations. Offered free of charge to all EU and Japanese biotech and pharmaceutical companies, it has become a must-attend event for most companies travelling to Japan at this time of year. This year, more than 130 participants attended the event in Osaka on 10 October, which included a pitching luncheon and poster session in addition to partnering. In total the event generated 221 meetings of which 82 online ones were already scheduled in the last week of September.

BioJapan, Asia's largest bio-partnering event, was bigger than ever, with many national pavilions returning after the Pandemic. At the EU-Japan Centre stand, each mission participant was represented with a small display and poster stand. Information material about the participating SMEs and the Cluster was provided by the EU-Japan Centre in Japanese, and interpreters helped with communication at the stand. Most participants also had a busy schedule full of 1:1 meetings and spent much of their time in the dedicated partnering area in the exhibition hall. BioJapan evening events provided additional opportunities for informal networking. In total the participants had 144 meetings with potential partners during the whole mission.

Participant Testimonial

By Marjo Puumalainen,International Director, SwedenBIO

What was the purpose of SwedenBIO’s participation?
“I have experienced that large pharmaceutical companies in Asia have a strong appetite for innovative drug discovery projects but have challenges in finding small Swedish biotech companies. Given that SwedenBIO has recently published the Swedish drug discovery and development pipeline report 2023 (https://swedenbio.se/information-in-english/reports), mapping Swedish drug discovery and development projects, we have a great opportunity to present the Swedish pipeline to Japanese pharmaceutical scouts and invite them to Nordic Life Science Days (https://www.nlsdays.com) to meet Swedish companies.”

What is your experience from the mission?
“The application for the EU-Japan mission was straightforward and the visit itself well organized. The translation of our material to Japanese and the translators at the booth were great for increased visibility. I would recommend the mission, especially for first-time comers; it’s an easy way to attend BioJapan and to get support to connect with local actors.”

How was the interest towards Swedish life science companies?
“Swedish biotech companies are poorly known in Japan, but it’s well known that Sweden is an innovative country with untapped business opportunities. I had several partnering meetings where companies showed a strong interest in learning about Swedish companies and our life science ecosystem. Japanese pharma scouts highly appreciated the detailed list of Swedish drug discovery projects, and I’m continuously working on connecting interested parties. The aim for the future is to continue building bridges between Japan and Sweden, organize a Japanese delegation to Nordic Life Science Days and use our local connections to support our members in expanding their business in the east.”