The Basel Area opens a new growth pathway for Korean biohealth companies
A new four-party agreement with Roche Korea, KHIDI and KIBO strengthens the Basel Area’s role as a global bridge for open innovation, market expansion and life sciences growth.
The Basel Area Life Sciences Supercluster is becoming a more direct entry point for high-potential biohealth companies looking to scale internationally. A new memorandum of understanding between Roche Korea, the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Basel Area Business & Innovation and the Korea Technology Finance Corporation is the latest example.
Signed to expand global open innovation cooperation, the agreement brings together Roche Korea, the Swiss Basel region’s innovation ecosystem and Korean public institutions to support promising Korean biohealth companies from technology discovery through financing, mentoring, infrastructure access and global market entry.
A one-stop pathway into the Basel Area
At the center of the collaboration is a planned “one-stop cooperation system” designed to connect selected Korean companies with the capabilities they need to grow beyond their home market. Roche Korea will sponsor the program and lead the selection framework for promising companies. KHIDI will support program promotion and operation. KIBO will conduct technology and business feasibility evaluations and provide finance-linked support. Basel Area Business & Innovation will connect selected companies to local infrastructure, networks and guidance in the Basel Area Life Sciences Supercluster, including Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area.
The collaboration is closely linked to the Korea-Switzerland BioPass program, jointly promoted by Roche Korea and KHIDI. BioPass provides tailored support for domestic biotech companies according to their growth stage and connects them to global networks.
For Basel Area Business & Innovation, the agreement reflects a broader international role: helping companies, partners and innovation agencies translate ambition into presence, partnerships and progress inside Europe’s most concentrated life sciences ecosystem.
“Innovation is global by nature, and the Basel Area Life Sciences Supercluster is becoming an international biotech gateway by empowering international companies to access its networks, infrastructure and partners to grow their operations. By connecting Korean innovators with Basel, and by extension, with partners and opportunities across borders, we’re helping accelerate the next wave of breakthroughs."
The agreement also strengthens the Basel Area’s position as a strategic hub for global open innovation. Home to Roche’s global headquarters, more than 800 life sciences companies, 1,000 research groups and around 33,000 life sciences experts, the region offers a dense environment where companies can connect research, clinical development, commercialization expertise and international partnerships in one ecosystem.
“Roche Korea is proud to participate in this meaningful project as a sponsor, helping high-potential Korean startups navigate the global stage. Our role is to empower these innovators by supporting them within the Basel Area Life Sciences Supercluster and providing access to expert mentorship. We believe this will help to build a more interconnected biotech landscape where promising companies can more easily access the infrastructure and global networks they need to thrive.”
Building bridges between life sciences ecosystems
For international biohealth companies, the challenge is rarely ambition. The challenge is access: to the right partners, the right infrastructure, the right market knowledge and the right credibility at the right time.
That is where the Basel Area Life Sciences Supercluster is increasingly playing a practical role. Through collaborations like this one, Basel Area Business & Innovation helps international partners create structured pathways into the region and helps companies discover how to land, launch and level up in a location built for life sciences growth.
The new MOU shows how international economic development is changing. It is no longer only about attracting companies to a place. It is about building trusted routes between ecosystems, helping innovation move faster across borders, and making it easier for companies with strong science to find the people, partners and platforms they need to scale.
Press release
Basel, Switzerland, May 05, 2026 | Basel Area Life Sciences Supercluster Welcomes New Korean Biopharmas
About the program partners
Basel Area Business & Innovation is the strategic growth partner helping scalable ventures in science and tech to land, launch and level up in the Basel Area – faster, smarter and friction free. We support startups, scaleups, SMEs and global enterprises with expert insight from science and tech specialists, equity-free funding to fuel your growth, and end-to-end support tailored to your industry and stage. Serving the cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft and Jura, our mission is regional growth, meaning our stake is in the future of the Basel Area, not your finances. With Basel Area Business & Innovation, you can plug straight in to the insight, infrastructure and collaborative network to scale seamlessly inside Europe’s most concentrated innovation ecosystem and its transformative life sciences supercluster.
Land, launch and level up in the Basel Area. Where science and tech grow smarter.
Roche Korea is part of Roche, a global healthcare company founded in Basel, Switzerland in 1896. Roche brings together pharmaceuticals and diagnostics to help prevent, diagnose and treat diseases, with focus areas including oncology, neurology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, ophthalmology, infectious diseases and immunology.
The Korea Health Industry Development Institute is a government-affiliated institution under Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare. KHIDI supports the development and global competitiveness of Korea’s health industry, including healthcare R&D, innovative new drugs, medical devices, regenerative medicine, big data and AI-based medical technologies.
Korea Technology Finance Corporation, also known as KIBO or KOTEC, is a non-profit government-affiliated institution that supports innovative SMEs through services including credit guarantees, technology appraisal, guarantee-linked equity investment, and technology transfer and protection.
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