'Korean small and mid-size biotech firms hold significant potential'

Firm outlines ambitions to serve as global launchpad at press briefing

Michael Keyoung (left), CBC Group's head of North America and head of global private credit and royalties, and Billy Cho, senior managing director of CBC Group's private equity fund division and head of joint value creation, hold a press briefing at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on June 10. [CBC Group]
Michael Keyoung (left), CBC Group's head of North America and head of global private credit and royalties, and Billy Cho, senior managing director of CBC Group's private equity fund division and head of joint value creation, hold a press briefing at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on June 10. [CBC Group]

"The pandemic taught us that disease knows no borders. That means healthcare cannot have borders either. We are committed to supporting the globalization of Korean biotech companies."

Michael Keyoung, CBC Group's head of North America and head of global private credit and royalties, made the remarks at a press briefing held June 10 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno-gu, Seoul. He expressed strong regard for the potential of domestic biotech firms and outlined an aggressive strategy to expand investment in the sector.

CBC Group is Asia's largest healthcare-focused asset manager, headquartered in Singapore. The firm invests in pharmaceutical, biotech and medical technology companies through buyouts, credit investments and platform building. Founded in 2014, it currently manages $10.8 billion (approximately 16.5 trillion won) in assets.

In South Korea, the firm is best known for leading a consortium with GS and IMM Investment in 2021 to acquire Hugel, a medical aesthetics company. It entered a partnership with ABL Bio in 2018 to jointly pursue global development, and in 2024 acquired Celltrion Pharm's Southeast Asia business for approximately 200 billion won ($145 million).

Billy Cho, senior managing director of CBC Group's private equity fund division and head of joint value creation, also attended the briefing. Keyoung built his healthcare expertise at Burrill & Company, Portola Capital Partners and Genexine, one of South Korea's first-generation listed biotech firms. Cho brings more than 20 years of healthcare investment banking experience and previously served as chief financial officer of Zymeworks, a Nasdaq-listed biotech company.

"The healthcare industry involves long product development cycles and complex regulatory requirements that vary by country," Keyoung said. "Clinical trials, approvals and commercialization all require specialized knowledge and networks. As a global investment platform dedicated to healthcare, CBC aims to connect Asian innovation to global markets."

Cho described South Korea as an advanced base for the pharmaceutical and biotech industry with strong globalization potential. "Because the Korean biotech market is relatively small, companies here tend to target global markets from the outset — and that is actually a strength," he said. "The country has outstanding scientific and clinical manufacturing capabilities, and there is significant potential across biotech, aesthetics, biosimilars and new drug development."

The challenge, he said, lies in the capacity to go global. "Globalization requires talent, experience and capital, and that creates a bottleneck where growth stalls," Cho said. "Cases of Korean companies reaching the US Food and Drug Administration have been concentrated among large pharmaceutical firms. Capable small and mid-size companies struggle to succeed because of limited resources."

CBC Group plans to expand investment particularly in early-stage companies. The firm is establishing a fund dedicated to Korean healthcare investment in partnership with the Korea Investment Corporation. KIC has committed $150 million (approximately 230 billion won) as anchor investor, with total funding expected to reach around $300 million (approximately 460 billion won).

Cho said the fund will operate differently from a conventional buyout, which typically acquires a controlling stake in a company to increase its value. The CBC-KIC fund will instead secure licenses to individual new drug intellectual property held by Korean companies at Phase 1 to Phase 2 clinical trial stages. An operating entity under the fund will then lead clinical trials and global commercialization, expanding the development scope and market reach of each drug candidate overseas.

"The partnership with KIC is meaningful because it connects outstanding Korean companies with institutional investors seeking global investment opportunities," Cho said. "We want to build a partnership that grows in Korea over the long term." He added that the firm has registered as a general partner of an institutional private collective investment vehicle, enabling it to directly form and manage domestic funds of various sizes.

CBC Group plans to combine with GHO Capital by 2027. GHO is a Europe-based healthcare-focused investment firm with strong positions in the European and US markets. The combined entity would manage $21 billion (approximately 32 trillion won) in assets.

"CBC has its strengths in Asia, while GHO is rooted in Europe and the United States," Keyoung said. "Together, we can become a more powerful global healthcare investment platform connecting Asia, the US and Europe." He added that the enhanced global investment capabilities would allow the firm to provide greater support to Korean companies.


park.jiyeong@heraldcorp.com