Seoul, South Korea — April 2026 — YAFO Capital participated in the 2026 thebell Pharmaceutical & Bio Forum, held on April 27 at The Plaza Hotel in Seoul. The forum, held under the theme “K-Bio Global Deal-Making and Investment Strategies,” brought together global pharmaceutical companies, biotech executives, venture investors, and Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies to discuss collaboration and investment opportunities.

According to thebell, the full-day forum drew approximately 300 attendees from around 150 domestic and international companies. The event also featured a structured one-on-one partnering program, with approximately 50 meetings held across four meeting rooms.

Fan Zheng, Managing Partner at YAFO Capital, delivered a presentation during the forum on  China novel drug BD transaction trends and key takeaways for Korean biotech. The presentation highlighted evolving business development strategies in China’s biotech sector, the growing role of the NewCo model in global biopharma partnerships, and continued investor interest in innovative early-stage assets. Fan also shared YAFO Capital’s perspective on supporting Asian biotech innovation through strategic global partnerships.

Left to right: Fan Zheng, Managing Partner at Yafo Capital; Henry He, Vice President at Highlight Capital; Ji-soo Kang, Vice President at BNH Investment; Craig Gordon, CEO of GordonMD Global Investments.

In addition to the presentation, Fan Zheng also participated in the forum’s global venture capital panel session alongside Henry He, Vice President at Highlight Capital, and Craig Gordon, CEO of GordonMD Global Investments. The discussion focused on the current biotech investment environment, cross-border transaction trends, and how U.S.- and China-based investors are evaluating opportunities within the K-Bio ecosystem.

Fan’s participation in both the presentation and panel discussion reflects YAFO Capital’s broader focus on life sciences transaction advisory and international business development. YAFO’s Life Sciences platform supports Chinese and global biotech across licensing, M&A, fundraising, strategic partnering, and NewCo incubation initiatives.

YAFO Capital’s participation in the 2026 thebell Pharmaceutical & Bio Forum further underscores the firm’s commitment to connecting Asian biotech innovation with global pharmaceutical companies, investors, and strategic partners.

Additional speakers and panelists at the forum represented a broad cross-section of the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology ecosystem, reflecting the event’s emphasis on international collaboration and cross-border business development. Participants included senior executives and business development leaders from organizations such as J.P. Morgan, ABL Bio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, Astellas Pharma, AbbVie, Insilico Medicine, and Viva Biotech, as well as representatives from Korea’s healthcare and investment sectors. Discussions throughout the event covered global licensing and partnership trends, AI-driven drug discovery, investment strategies, and opportunities for Korean biotech companies to expand internationally through strategic partnerships and venture financing.

Photos below are courtesy of thebell Forum News Article:

BG Rhee (left), Senior Advisor at Flagship Pioneering Korea; David Lau (center), Vice Chairman, APAC Investment Banking & Head of APAC Healthcare Investment Banking at JP Morgan; and Lee Sang-hoon, CEO of ABL Bio, spoke during the session.

Clockwise from left: Asako Yamaguchi, Associate Director at Novartis; June Hahn, Head of BD&L Korea, Global BD&L at Boehringer Ingelheim; Tomohiro Yoshida, Scouting and Transaction Lead at Astellas Pharma; and Lena Iwai, RBB Director at Boehringer Ingelheim.

Left to right: Asako Yamaguchi, Associate Director at Novartis; Tomohiro Yoshida, Scouting & Transactions Lead at Astellas; Kyung-hwa Huh, CEO of the Korea Innovative Medicines Consortium (KIMCo); June Hahn, Head of BD&L Korea, Global BD&L at Boehringer Ingelheim; and Lena Iwai, RBB Director at Boehringer Ingelheim.

Clockwise from left: Sunny Kang, Director of AI Strategy and Business Intelligence at AbbVie; Jianyu Wu, BD Lead in APAC Region at Insilico Medicine; Kang-sub Lim, Director of Biopharmaceutical Industry Division, Ministry of Health and Welfare; and Dr. Derek Ren, CEO of Viva Biotech.

Reference: Global Capital and Tech Converge for Bio Deal-Making

About YAFO Capital

Founded in 2013, YAFO Capital is a Shanghai-based boutique investment and advisory firm, with a professional team in our China, U.S., EU, and SEA offices. Partnering with Pharmaceutical companies, YAFO Fund mainly invests in global assets. YAFO Life Sciences is a leading advisory boutique focused on asset transactions. YAFO has built a strong, proven track record and closed dozens of in-licensing and out-licensing transactions with global pharma and biotech companies. Over the past five years, YAFO has been ranked as the No. 1 advisor for China cross-border licensing transactions.  For more information, please visit http://www.yafocapital.com

雅法资本成立于2013年，作为新型投资和投行咨询机构，致力于中国及海外生物医药项目的投融资、资产跨境交易和资产孵化等。旗下雅法基金联合药企进行资产投资和并购，雅法全球医疗专注于医药产品跨境及国内授权交易。基于雅法在全球广泛的人脉与资源网络，在过去十年成功推进了大量的海外项目进入中国市场并协助多个中国产品完成海外授权。雅法拥有经验丰富的全球交易团队，覆盖美国、日本 、欧洲等全球主要医药创新区域。核心合伙人均为华尔街资深投行人士或具有跨国药企经历，为客户交易提供强力支持。雅法总部位于上海，在美国、欧洲、东南亚等地均设有分部。雅法在生物医药跨境授权及并购业务交易数量连续多年排名第一。

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